


The Island

by Talonwillow (TalonWillow)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Desert Island Fic, Het and Slash, Minor Character Death, Multi, Past Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Past Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Threesome - F/M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:55:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 47,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23875063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TalonWillow/pseuds/Talonwillow
Summary: While heading to the states for a training exercise, Ministry Employees Draco, Hermione, and Harry’s portkey land them mistakenly on a deserted island. With Magic somehow deactivated here, they will have to learn to work together and make the best out of a bad situation, especially when they learn they are not alone.AU/Slightly OOC, Triadbond with both Het and Slash.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Comments: 80
Kudos: 198





	1. Inventories and Essentials

**Author's Note:**

> This is my very first long fic, and I am super excited in the direction it is going. This will be at least 7 chapters long, possibly 8, and an epilogue. I love that these characters have a mission of merging technology and Magic. I have random quarantine puns and Tiger King reference's thrown throughout the story good luck finding them ;)
> 
> Thank you so much to Deviantgunner for her Alpha help and character development, and the amazing Tirzah for her mad Beta skills. You both are awesome! 
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

“If you would clear the seaweed out of your ears Granger, you would have heard me the first time. It's no use, I can't get it to go in." 

Draco Malfoy's irritation at the normally bushy-haired, but now sweat-covered brunette Hermione was growing as quickly as the sunlight was fading. 

"Careful, the opening is quite small, you just put the long pointy thing inside the hole. Now make sure you are twisting it as you are inserting it, so it goes in smoothly. Oh, if only I had my wand, I could do it myself…" Hermione breathlessly instructed Draco. 

"Yeah, Draco, Get the long pointy thing inside the hole," came the disjointed words of a very inebriated Harry Potter from his seat next to the fire. 

  
  


That morning had started simple enough for Hermione Granger. She was looking forward to enjoying a change of pace by taking an overseas portkey to MACUSA's Magical Law Enforcement Training Facility in Tampa, Florida, to introduce the international version of their pet project. For the last 2 years, Draco and Hermione had been heading the investigations department at the DMLE at the Ministry of Magic. Together, they had created software that would translate magic to computer codes, allowing technology to work in a magical environment. With this new platform, there were now magical databases going up across the world that revolutionized magical law enforcement. Of course, having ⅔ of the golden trio be part of the team that created "Techno-magic," but they called it techmag for short, helped bring Draco out of the shadow of his family's name he had been under for the last decade. Harry, being head Auror, was their champion that stood behind them and pushed to have the project rolled out. His public relations skills are what supported bringing techmag into the ministry. Without him, the project would have never even got off the ground.

So, how is it that the three brains that brought technology into the wizarding world couldn't get a tent put up without magic? Putting up a Magical tent was not meant to be so labor-intensive. One would point their wand, say some words, maybe have some strong intentions and poof, a tent would be erected. Why then was this so difficult? That's right - because these three were currently stranded on what looked to be a deserted island in the middle of what Hermione could best tell had to be somewhere in the Atlantic. And the worst part was, their magic didn't seem to work here. 

"Ok, I got it in. Now, as long as your side is tied in, we should be good." Draco remarked as he attempted to rid his hands of the damnable sand that was everywhere he touched. "Granger, you never did explain how it was that you just happened to have a tent inside that marvelous little bag of yours."

"Let's just say, I keep it in there for old times' sake," Hermione responded while double-checking each pole.

"Is that really our old home away from home, 'Mione? After all these years, you still have it ?" Harry was nearing the teary emotional drunken stage of his medicinal drinking spree. Hermione knew with her best friend not being much of a drinker, this was going to go a lot quicker than when Ronald had gone through his levels of drinking. The alcohol combined with his injuries would be bringing unconsciousness at any moment. 

"I've made up a sleeping area for him, so let's get him in there and make sure his body temperature doesn't get too high or too low. It may be July, but he took a beating in those waves. Without my wand to run a diagnostic test to see if he is maybe just bruised or if anything is truly broken, we don't really know what we are working with here. He could have an infection or internal bleeding…" She hated not having a way to figure the extent of his damage. 

Their admittance on this island was not one she wanted to remember. Still, she had to keep bringing it to the forefront of her brain so she could figure out: first, how they had gotten here, second, why their magic wasn't working, and third, how the hell they would get out of here. The number one priority, though, was getting the drunken man with the possibly cracked ribs into the tent without injuring him more in the process.

"Alright, let's pick him up together on three: one...two… three…"

Harry was singing something about "the good old days" and "moldy voldy has no nose." 

"Oof. Potter, I thought weasle-be was the one in your group that ate everything he sees, Granger included. You weigh a ton."

"Malfoy, you git, are you calling me fat? I'm not fat, I have the shape of a god. And I wouldn't eat Hermione, she's too sweet. You're so sweet Hermione, I bet you do taste sweet… Oh, Malfoy... I get it now, maybe I would eat…"

"Harry James Potter, Don't you finish that sentence," groaned Hermione.

"I don't know about you Potter, but I myself have a wicked sweet tooth. Hey Granger, watch it, that's my foot."

"Right here, Draco, lean him up against these pillows." 

"Who travels with the equivalent of a well-stocked linen closet with them? You have 3 pillows, a body pillow, and Egyptian cotton 1200 thread count sheets, not to mention the air mattress. Careful Granger, I may just say I'm impressed." Draco, having deposited the almost unconscious Harry onto the mattress inside the "home away from home," was now making himself comfortable in the tent. 

Under normal circumstances, being a magical tent, there would be 2 bedrooms, a kitchenette, and a bathroom. Under these, well, whatever these circumstances were, the canvas was only slightly larger than a standard tent with just a large open area. However, Draco was still able to stand up in it. At 6’1 that was still quite an impressive feat.

"I always carry my own linens. And how could you possibly know the thread count just by touch alone?"

"I'm a Malfoy." He responded back with a slight shrug of his shoulder. "You're a witch. You could just magic them clean, or transfigure them to something else if you are that picky about hotel sheets. You could make the most mundane cotton into pure silk." He was definitely admiring the quality of her burgundy sheets, blissfully ignoring the softly snoring man lying atop them. 

"What concern is it of yours WHY I bring my own linens? I'm a grown woman I can do as I damn well please." Her response was probably a little more defensive than she meant for it to come across, so she softened her tone slightly. "Let's all just be glad that I did, how's that."

"Fair enough, even though it is a hideous color."

Hermione had been moving things around inside the tent as they prepared for their night in. It was apparent that help was not coming tonight. As it was, no one would even realize they were also missing most likely till the morning. Their missed check-in at the hotel would be flagged as unusual, and the DMLE would definitely notice their absence tomorrow at the training and send help then. 

"Draco, what do we have for light, anything? I attempted a wandless _Lumos_ earlier but didn’t get anywhere with it. We need to inventory what we have, and we are almost completely out of daylight; otherwise, we will have to wait till morning."

"On it, boss," Draco said as he rushed out of the tent to get the last remaining bags that had not been brought in from their turbulent first several hours here. 

Hermione was always amused at Draco's casual attitude that was so adverse to the spoiled, little boy she knew growing up. Of course, now she was fully aware that the boy was a by-product of his life inside of Malfoy Manor and under the hand of his cruel father. After the war, Draco was brought up on charges for his crimes as a death eater. Harry had stood at both his and Narcissa's trials and told of the perilous position they had both put themselves in by lying to Voldemort on behalf of Harry. He had stood before the wizengamot and spoke of how he believed it showed remorse and felt they both deserved a second chance. In turn, that left them each with just a year of house arrest, whereas Lucius had not been as lucky. He had received 10-years in Azkaban and had passed away 7 years into his sentence. He had lived long enough to pass down his expectation that as heir to the Malfoy line, Draco was to marry the youngest Greengrass daughter. Draco's wife, Astoria, had passed away from a blood curse while pregnant with their 1st child almost 3 years ago. 

"Ok, I have 1 Large green suitcase that looks to be 3 decades old. Did this come with us, or was this already here on this godforsaken island?" Draco was inspecting said suitcase with disgust. 

"That's mine, thank you very much. It's for my books." Hermione said loftily. As ugly as it was, and she would admit it was ugly, she loved that old suitcase, one of the few things she had of her fathers'. 

"Right, cause you didn't have enough room inside the teeny tiny little black bag that actually has an infinite amount of space in it… "

She looked at him sternly as she moved to grab for the vintage hard-shelled suitcase. "My bag does not have infinite space, there are limits to everything. Now, if you would, please." 

He held the suitcase just out of reach, making her lean up on her tippy toes to try to grab it. Hermione had no qualms about pawing at him to get him to put the case down. This, in turn, had him put it up higher over his head.

"You brought an additional suitcase, which looks like a prop from a 70's porn film, just for books. Granger, we were gonna be gone for 5 days." Draco could not contain his mirth at both the idea that she would have a suitcase just for books and at how adorable she looked jumping all over him to get at the case. 

"Yes, Draco, I like to read. If you know nothing else about me, you at least know that fact. Now, if you please." Hermione decided on a different tactic, she stopped her jumping and pawing and instead put her hands on his chest and looked up at him.

Of Late, Hermione had been playing a dangerous game with her heart. After she and Ronald had called it quits several years ago, she noticed the two people she most wanted to spend her time most just happened to be the same two people that were on this island. When Draco had joined her department at the ministry, she at first thought it was a joke- a reformed Draco Malfoy, right. The more she got to know him over the years, she saw how he had changed; Going to college in the states had altered him, marriage had molded him, the idea of being a father had matured him, and then how he handled his world crashing down on him at their death displayed how he was still a human. He had trudged through his grief every day with his head held high, how could she not be drawn to him. Even if she was the last thing on earth he would be interested in. 

A year after Tori's death, Draco had attempted to get back into the dating scene by trying out online dating. Hermione's own evening was interrupted by an urgent 999 text from Draco, their code for when things were going badly. As soon as she got there to "rescue" him, she saw that his partner was none other than a newly memory-restored Gilderoy Lockheart. Draco's only comment about the almost disastrous date was, "Does no one use their own picture in a profile anymore" as they drank firewhiskey into the night. From then on, she knew that even though He may be her type, She was not his. Hermione would give in to gentle flirting with him around the office, as he flirted with everyone there, hating it could never be real as she was not a male. She used his own tools from his toolbox as she looked into his eyes very doe-like and picked at his top button absently. 

"Please."

As much as he enjoyed this all hands-on Draco game, he couldn't handle things when she looked at him with those soft eyes. Draco was the master of the flirt, the czar of seduction, the Slytherin sex god if you believed those old Hogwarts rumors. But something about Hermione Granger actually made him flustered. Not taking his silver eyes off of her honey brown ones, he relented and handed her the case. 

"Your medieval relic, my lady."

She mouthed the words 'thank you' as she moved out of his personal space to place her beloved suitcase in the corner of the tent away from harm. 

"Next, we have Potter's school trunks. With all the money that man has made off of Techmag, you would think he could afford something a little more dazzling, don't you think? I mean, look here." With the grace of a TV spokesperson, Draco was now holding up his own bag, an oversized brown and gold carryall bag with large LV's all over it. "Yes, now see here; this is what I am talking about. This is a custom Ludwig Vultrom, the finest wizarding designer in London, Milan, New York, and Paris. The absolute best in travel accessories."

It took everything inside of her to not laugh too loudly as she started sifting through Harry's trunks. There were all the Harry Potter essentials; jeans, shorts, T-shirts, boxer briefs, jumpers, _really Harry, Florida in July_ , socks, Hello sexy speedo _that's more like it Harry_ and his invisibility cloak. _Ah-ha_ , there it was, his trusty multi-tool that Dudley's little boy had given him a while back after Harry had been admiring the one Dud's had. She was glad to see that relationship had been mended. All of Dudley's kids adored their "Uncle Harry," and that sentiment went both ways. 

"Jackpot, we have light!" Hermione exclaimed as she turned the little knob on the back of the tool emitting the equivalent of a soft _Lumos_ throughout the area, just as the last visages of sunlight left the confines of the small room. 

  
  


"Alright, bring it over here let's see what we have. Here's my iPhone, we can type up a text message with our inventory list." 

"Draco, while that's a great idea, shouldn't we conserve your batteries as much as we can?"

"Granger, miraculously, I still have 87% charge, and besides, someone will be here for us tomorrow. As soon as we don't show up at the training facility, they will come looking for us. Unless, of course, you have an actual pen and paper in that bag of tricks."

Hermione rolled her eyes, truth be told there was probably very little she DIDN'T have in her "bag of tricks." She reached all the way down to her elbow. She fished around before she pulled out a bright pink diary with the words "Make Today Awesome" scribbled across the front and a matching pink pen. 

"Granger, you would sacrifice some poor little child's diary to be our inventory list." Draco clearly knew this well-used children's looking tome was hers, but just had to take the mickey out of her. So she used said diary to hit him on the shoulder sharply. 

"Ha Ha, Draco, it will serve its purpose. I will be the one writing in it as it is mine and no getting nosy and snooping in it! I didn't need magic to teach you a lesson back in 3rd year, and I don't need it now, I'm watching you", she taunted again as she noticed him giggling right along with her at the awkwardness that was 3rd year. They got comfortable as they prepared to inventory their stock. 

"Right, we will go through Harry's and your bags first as they have the least amount of items, and we will end with my bag which has the food. That way, we can divvy it out; I don't know about you, but I haven't eaten since breakfast, and we definitely need to get something in Harry. He will need some nourishment after what he has been through today…" Tears started threatening to spill over onto her face as the events caught up with her, and the moment she thought she had lost him. 

_"Harry, Harry… Draco, do you have him?"_

_"Over here, Granger, but he's not breathing…"_

_"Quickly bring him up on the sand, I know CPR, take his shirt off."_

_"I always knew you had a thing for him…"_

_"Draco, you have to do exactly what I tell you too, you are going to breathe into his mouth…"_

_"What...."_

_"Draco, just hold his nose like this, tilt his head back, I'm going to do chest compressions, and you will do the mouth to mouth resuscitation. Please, Harry, don't leave me…One...Two...Three…"_

"So Potter's a speedo guy, I can see it." Draco had started his search through Harry's luggage. Hermione wiped her silent tears away. Grateful for the small amount of light, so Draco would not see how the recollection had affected her. 

It hadn't taken long to get through Harry's trunks and Draco's carryall. To spare the wear and tear on his new bag Draco was going to have his house-elf bring anything he had forgotten to pack from his NYC brownstone, his home during his college years, and deliver them straight to the hotel that they would be staying in. This then resulted in Draco running outside of the tent, yelling, "Zummy...Zummy" to which no house-elf responded. Apparently, Elf magic could be added to the list of things that did not work on this island. Strange though that her undetectable extension charm in her bag still worked, _Interesting_. Draco had the three techmag scanners that they were going to be using as examples during the training. He also had his laptop and iPhone, of course, neither one had a signal as that had been one of the first things he had checked. Rounding out his meager supplies were; The equivalent of 5 days worth of clothing, swim trunks, sandals, his sunglasses, a book, his Slytherin reusable water bottle, his wallet, and oddly enough, a matchbox car. There was also his metal flask with the Malfoy crest on the front that just looked foreign in the hands of the snoring Harry Potter. Both men had shower kits, as opposite as they were; Draco's was the same color and design as his bag, and she was pretty sure Harry's was the same one he used in school.

Where Draco's supplies had been on the famine side, Hermione's little black bag gave them a feast. They munched on a bag of crisps while they scratched the surface of just the first initial level. She then informed him it would probably be more comfortable for her to tell him what she DIDN'T have. Her suggestion to inventory earlier was more to find what the guys had brought to the table. 

"So food, drink, not a problem? "Draco was a little skeptical only because he was having a hard time believing so much could come from something so tiny. 

"Not a problem, at least one month IF we are responsible. I'm hoping we will need a day's worth at most, though."

"What about other essential items?" Draco narrowed his eyes at her and enunciated the word essential, hoping she would get where he was going. There are some things even he didn't like to talk about in polite company.

Annoyed at his emphasis on something she did not deem essential, she huffed out, "Yes, Draco, there is plenty of alcohol in my bag."

"Salazar woman, I meant Loo paper, not bleeding alcohol. " 

"Yes, of course, Loo roll, I mean, I do have a decent supply, and as I said as long as we act responsibly and conservatively, we should be just fine." Embarrassment washed over her as she had assumed his priorities had been misplaced. "Now I do have some potions in here that may or may not work, as well as quite a bit of other items that will come in very handy, given our situation. I would like to see if we could clean Harry up and ascertain if his ribs are broken or just bruised really bad. That was an excellent idea to give him your flask as soon as he came to."

"Right, wrong, or otherwise, when a bloke has met death as many times as Harry has, He deserves a stiff drink when he comes back." There was laughter in his words, but Hermione could see beyond that- Draco had been afraid just as much as she had been. 

"Draco, thank you." She reached out for his hand, letting him know the brevity of her appreciation." I...I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't gone back in the water to save him." 

"What was I gonna do? Harry saved me too once upon a time, I'm not gonna let him get taken down by water." Draco wanted to say more as he was enjoying her giving his hands some attention he didn't know he craved. But his thoughts could not translate to words at that moment. He also didn't know what he would have done if Harry hadn't come back out of the water today. 

Draco realized he was glad there was just a small glimmer of light, so she didn't see the tears coming down his cheek. 


	2. Life Debt, Potter

Pain. Harry's side had not hurt this bad since the illegal knock-off brooms raid he had done in Lisbon three years ago, where one of the Boltfire 3000's exploded in his hand earning him a 5 day stay at St. Mungos.  _ I've got to stop taking field assignments. _

__ Drawing on his training and activating his senses, he took a moment to assess his situational awareness and attempt to get his breathing to cooperate. He was most definitely aware he was not in his flat near Elephant and Castle. Sense of smell; Himself,  _ Good Godric, I need a shower _ . He smelled charcoal and something really meaty, Salty air hit his nostrils next and suntan lotion.  _ Maybe Gin has finally agreed to that much needed holiday I've been egging her about, no...it wouldn't be Gin, would it? Just as well, she'd burn within the first 5 minutes of being in the sun.  _ Touch; He could tell that he was lying on a mattress, but this was not his sleep number bed. He could also tell he was bandaged in several places.  _ Ah, that would account for the pain. Left foot, toes can wiggle, good. Fuck, ankle, sprained but not broken, silver lining, I guess.  _ He moved his right foot around checking for damage and upon finding none, furthered his internal inspection up his body.  _ Benny and the jets? Yep, all good there… Ahhh, two ribs may have been cracked on my left side, but at least the right seems to be ok. The face appears to be ok; glasses are missing, though… _ He felt alongside the bed, but all he felt was a nylon-like material.

He opened his eyes. Where the hell was he. Not being able to see much of anything without his glasses, he looked around and took in the shapes. He was in a tent, a magical tent? No, this was a muggle tent, or was it? His blurred vision followed the sunlight out through the flaps and could see the outline of what must be blue waves blending with tan sand before rushing away. The sharp sounds of the waves filled his head as his memories returned.

_ The Portkey dropped them not into an unused alleyway but into the middle of the ocean. _

_ That ocean took hold of him, angry at his intrusion into a domain that was not his.  _

_ Seeing the inky black shadow so familiar, now staring at him attempting to take hold of him. _

_ Swimming forward, but the ocean's swell was so powerful, he was pushed into a reef.  _

_ Pain, overwhelming pain. Not just in his ribs, but in his chest as he struggled to breathe.  _

_ Strong arms propelling him forward as he was being pulled simultaneously by death's tendrils. _

_ Then black. _

"I don't get what the problem is, Granger, loads of men sleep in the nude. What, did Weasle-be never sleep au-natural?"

"The problem is that it is not just you sleeping here. There are three of us, and you need to be mindful of your bedmates."

"I am always mindful of my bedmates. But you are right- what was I thinking? Granger, you are more than welcome to sleep naked as well, you won't get any complaints from me, and I don't think sleeping beauty in there is gonna say anything either."

"Say that again, Draco…"

"You can sleep naked?"

"No, just the part where you said I was right, I really enjoy hearing you say it."

"No, no, no…. You get one, "you're right" from me per day. I have limits, woman." 

Harry was brought back from his contemplation by the bickering of his techmag teammates. At least they had made it through the madness unscathed. How long had he been out for? The Sleeping Beauty reference had him trying to recall more in his head. 

"Harry… you're awake, don't try to move too quickly." His petite best friend was on him the second she walked through the flaps. She was helping him sit up, careful not to jar him and cause him further pain. 

"The mighty chosen one comes back to live amongst us mortals once again, eh." Draco drawled, not bothering to help as he was too busy leaning up against the tent post. 

"Yeah, death didn't want me. He's still mad I sent him Voldemort." Harry threw back at him and attempted a chuckle, surprised the pain wasn't as unpleasant as he thought it would be. Sitting up now against a ridiculously soft set of pillows, Harry was able to really look around. 

"'Mione, would you either  _ Accio _ my glasses or hand me my wand…"

"Harry… about that… When Draco pulled you out of the water, well first, you weren't breathing, but we saved you! But um...Your wand, it was broken, shattered actually. I'm sorry."

"Why is this sounding so familiar." He had heard this before, a long time ago. Still, he also remembered being told something about his wand, her wand, and magic not working after being pulled abruptly from death.

"Draco, did..did you kiss me? "That part must've been a dream, a very realistic one at that. He remembered the blonde man's face inches from his, and then his lips were on top of his own, their breathes almost as one. 

"Look, Potter. If it had been a kiss, you would not be questioning it." Even without his glasses, Draco was in close enough proximity for him to see the seriousness in his eyes as he spoke. "No, what I did was save your life. It's a little technique I like to call mouth in mouth…"

"Mouth to Mouth…"

"Yes, yes, Granger... Mouth to Mouth resuscitation. And your welcome." Draco now was making himself comfortable in the corner of the tent that he looked very much at home in. Harry could see his laptop as well as their techmag gear set up and displayed on top of Harry's trunk. A seat made out of a large pillow and what looked like last year's jumper, Mrs. Weasley had made him stretched out between two sticks to make a taut seat back for Draco to lean against. 

"Thank you seriously. I can't thank you enough…" Harry directed his gratitude first towards Draco and then accompanied with a smith to Hermione. He knew, without a doubt, she was just as responsible for him being alive right now, if not more. Hermione had a knack for saving his life in more ways than one.

"Life debt Potter, it's a real thing. Look it up." Draco yelled over his shoulder as his laptop was now open, and he was pulling up what sounded like a game of solitaire. 

"Right, will do. So what I am remembering is, after Draco kissed me…" 

"Saved your life…" 

"That Draco's wand fell out of his hand when we landed in the water or something like that, and your wand was not working, does that sound right. What about wandless magic? "Harry was starting to really take in the gravity of the situation even though a lot of it was still not making sense. 

"Unfortunately, that is correct. My wand will not work at all, I'm able to do very minimal wandless magic, but it's very hit or miss. Watch." Hermione sat down next to him on the bed, which had the amazingly soft burgundy sheets he would often fall asleep on when he would stay in Hermione's guest room. 

" _ Confundus _ ." She whispered under her breath and behind her cupped hand towards Draco and his cutthroat game of solitaire. 

All at once, Draco's hand could not connect with the mouse, the confusion was plain as day on his face. It was as if his fingers could not seem to meet where his brain was assigning them to go. 

"Hermione." Came Draco's annoyed voice from his side of the tent. "We talked about this, just because you can, doesn't mean you should." 

"So it's a little more of a hit lately." She exclaimed with a little giggle as Draco was able to go back to his war with himself. "It's getting a little stronger each day. I still can't perform a  _ Lumos _ or an  _ accio  _ or anything like that, but we both have been practicing several times a day."

"Wait, what? " This took Harry aback." How long have I been out?"

"Harry, You've been in and out for 4 days now." He felt her checking his injuries. Her hands were soothing to his damaged skin. "We gave you the little bit of Skelegro that I had in my bag, but we weren't sure the level of potency it would have on this island. So we also administered a sleeping draught to help the healing process. I am sorry we couldn't do more, and I'm sure you are quite upset with me for keeping you asleep, but I do fear It could've been much worse if we hadn't. We've been able to get you to wake up only long enough to get some water and a little bit of coconut juice in you. Draco has been kind enough to help, um...with getting the water back out- if you know what I mean." 

Gratitude was such a small word compared to what he felt towards these two. They had done so much while he had been sleeping, no... healing. His thoughts went back to the late nights before the rollout of their project, where Draco and Hermione would be cramming to get the coding just right. All Harry could do, being not tech-savvy, was either to be the food guy or the cheerleader. Whatever it was, they needed him to do as they were hunched over their cluttered desktops, he would do it. Hermione had once explained that she and probably Draco would have given up a long time ago if he hadn't been there. By bringing in cups of tea each morning and surprising them with take-out each night had helped push them towards the finish line when giving up seemed the more comfortable option. Her words, praise, and trust in his abilities to provide for them helped give him strength. He was the one who had to bring the product to the Wizengamot, the one to convince them to take a chance on something new. Hermione had once given a little speech about Teamwork saying, "Good teams become great ones when they trust each other enough to surrender t _ he me  _ for  _ the we _ ." And that is what these two did- they picked up the slack while his body took the time to heal, while he apparently had another run-in with death. 

"I was serious about that life debt Potter…" Draco's announcement brought Harry back to the present. He had to stay sharp. His divorce from Ginny last year had really taken a toll on him, and his humorous semi-snarky side had taken a hit severely. It was good to feel it coming back to him. Draco played a mean game of verbal Quidditch, and now was not the time to get sappy.

"So not only has he kissed me but he's also seen my cock too, and I slept through all of it. Draco, what does that say about you, mate?" 

"Potter, I will tell you again. If it had been a kiss from me, it's not one you would forget. And your cock responded to me just fine as I was helping". Draco, still facing his laptop, took his hand off his mouse long enough to do air quotes as he said "helping." 

Harry had nothing. Draco had just caught the snitch, and Harry didn't even think he had been trying. "Well Played Draco. Well played." he laughed under his breath. 

"So best we can tell, "Hermione had been moving around the little tent, gathering things around. "You had two cracked ribs, the Skellegro and the rest should have helped, but we just had no way of knowing if the potions were going to work or not. You may still be quite tender, but it shouldn't be as painful as it would have been. So now your ankle was sprained pretty bad but does not appear to be broken. Once again, not knowing if the potion would work, or to what extent it would work if at all, Draco made some minor adjustment to your broomstick to make it a crutch. I'm sure you want to bathe and go get cleaned up…" 

"Correction, we want you to bathe and get cleaned up." Draco must have won his game of solitaire as he was also helping gather stuff around. 

"I do have more bad news, Harry…" She squatted down and put her hand on his arm, she always knew how to give the worst news in the best possible way. She could give him bad news any day… _ Where'd that come from? _

"Your glasses, those also were not recovered from the ocean. I'm so sorry. I'm afraid on top of all your other injuries you will be unable to see as well. I'm so sorry, Harry, I really am. I've been trying to figure out a way to …" 

She was obviously distraught over this.

"'Mione, it's ok." He placed his hand on her arm too. It was about time he attempted to learn her form of interpersonal magic. "Don't worry about it. I have contacts. Over there in my shower kit. A wise friend once reminded me that magic doesn't work very well against various forms of cancer. I really need to be wearing sunglasses more often, so I figured right before my 30th birthday in sunny Florida is the perfect place to get used to them."

"Harry, I told you that back in the 6th year…" Hermione chastised, but grateful nonetheless that there was a plan B for Harry's eyes. She gave him his shower kit and helped him get his hands clean with baby wipes, then rinsed them off with drinking water (what didn't she have in the bag) so he could put his contacts in. It took a moment for his vision to steady, but he reveled in the ability to be able to see again. Hermione and Draco helped Harry get to his feet so he could make his way down towards the water's edge to try to rid himself of the four-day stench. As he hobbled down, he was able to take in the camp in its entirety. He was so impressed by what the other two had accomplished in the four short days they had been there. 

As the hours had crept by the first day, the tensions had crept higher as well. Hermione and Draco did various projects to stay busy and distracted as they waited for help to arrive. By the third day, the projects were more a necessity than a distraction. It was quite a learning curve for Draco as he did not have nearly as much knowledge of living life the muggle way as Hermione did. Sure, he was considered the Ministry's go-to tech guy, but that had taken some online classes while at home during his house arrest, followed by 4 years of schooling to warrant that title. After his year-long lockdown, he had been accepted to Columbia University in NYC. He graduated with a degree in Computer Science. After college, he had started working for the investigations department in the DMLE where he, Potter, and Granger had got the wild idea of trying to integrate magic and technology.

In essence, two years later, their baby, techmag, was born. He really did owe these two a lot. Without ol' Scar Head's testimony at his trial, he would most likely have been in a cell next to his father in Azkaban. Her, well, she is what kept him going after Astoria's death. There were so many days he just wanted to give up. It was no secret to anyone that his marriage was not one formed on Love. Although he had grown to love and respect Tori, and when she announced she was pregnant, they had both been over-the-moon happy. When Tori's pregnancy accelerated the blood curse bringing forth her as well as their babies untimely death, a little bit of him wanted to die as well. Hermione had been his rock after the memorial service when she had found him in the library, not even able to conjure a decent privacy charm. She didn't even say a thing as she just held him as he wept over the loss of giving a child everything he had never had. 

The feisty little witch was also was the one to floo call into the Manor at 7 AM that week after to make sure he was showering, eating breakfast, and getting ready for the day. Even as of late, she had been there for him. She was the one he would make an emergency call to when he needed a quick exit from a horrible date, as his last attempt at online dating was tits-up from the get-go. Why does nobody use their real photos?! Even as he looked around at work she had done on this place, he couldn't help but be impressed with her. Draco had spent most of his time working on hanging up her portable shower and creating an almost fully enclosed loo (which he was very proud of by the way) while she had been busy creating a rain catchment system, their outdoor kitchen, and a small dining area. 

"All right, Potter. I am Draco Malfoy, and I will be your assistant this evening at the Chez Chic Island Hideaway Resort and Spa. I will be helping you today at our state of the art bathing facility. Later we have you down for a reservation at our uptown Bistro where Chef Hermy, tell her I called her that I will drown you, has the best seafood this side of... well, wherever the hell we are." Draco and Harry had made it down to the beach, where he noticed two foldable chairs had been nestled into the sand with a small little table whose top was a frisbee. The bottom looked like Draco's Slytherin water bottle placed between the chairs. Above it, being helped up by a long bamboo pole, was a large Hogwarts Alumni umbrella, _ did they really sell those openly, has no one heard of the statute of secrecy? _

"And when is my appointment with the hot blonde masseuse named Inga?"  _ might as well go along with the charade _ Harry thought. 

"I don't know about any Ingas, but I know a hot blonde that will give you a message if you play your cards right, Potter." 

Harry snickered, he really did enjoy their verbal Quidditch. Strangely enough, it was starting to look a little more like flirting than banter. Stranger even than that- Harry didn't seem to mind it one bit. 

Draco had never really tried to hide it (It's not like it was a secret; it just wasn't anyone's business), but he was neither gay nor straight. In fact, if you asked any ex-lover for classification of his sexuality, the word they would use would be - Greedy. He had always had an attraction to Harry while at school; one might even suggest that is where most of his animosity came from. Quite honestly, that's where his attraction to Hermione had come from too. The second that spritely little spitfire hit him with her tiny fist, he was hooked. 

With maturing throughout the years, he was able to push the attractions aside to focus on their project. But it wasn't every day you and your business partners (who also happened to be the objects of your desires), were trapped literally on a bloody deserted island and there is only so much growth and maturity a man can summon when Granger decides she is most comfortable walking around in tiny shorts and a little black bikini top all day. Draco had already decided for himself after the first day here: maturity be damned. He was going to let them both be aware of his attraction to them in his subtle Slytherin ways and see which one would take the bait. He had been alone for too long. 

Harry waded out to the shallow part of the bay, grateful his pain was lessening just by working the kinks out and stretching the sore muscles. His ribs would probably still need a couple more days to heal completely, but it was nothing he couldn't work through. Draco assisted Harry by throwing him his various toiletries from his lounged position on the chair when he needed them as Harry cleaned himself in the salty water. It stung like hell against his bruised and broken skin, but it was worth it to not smell like the inside of a locker room. He used this time to explain the various projects Hermione and himself had worked on. The strange anomalies, such as her wand not working, their wandless magic being finicky, and how their tech (strangely enough) was all maintaining battery life. They discussed their theories as to why no one has located them yet. The Portkey they used had obviously taken them to the wrong place, but where to and why? With Techmag working, there was the ability to send in their coordinates, but only if they had a convicted wizard's wand, which in this case, was Draco's. And It was presumedly in the bottom of the ocean.

The way Draco and Hermione had programmed Techmag was simple in theory but very sophisticated in reality. When an Auror apprehended a dark wizard, they would scan said "bad guy's" wand over techmag's proprietary scanner: this action was __ similar to "running a perp's prints." The magical code would then translate through as an actual computer code into the international database. The details would later appear on a computer screen in the convicted wizard's jurisdiction as well as coordinates for Aurors to apparate to so they can apprehend the wizard. The way they programmed it, it should work in any and all situations. Their research trials tested that out, even in Azkaban (where magic was not allowed), their prototypes worked. They had always used Draco's wand due to his conviction, as one of their controls. So, if they could only locate his wand, they could scan it on the scanner, and Aurors would be here, wherever here is, within minutes. 

Harry figured the next logical step was to do whatever it takes to locate the missing wand, which was their only hope at a rescue right now. Now clean and dressed in a pair of cargo shorts and his favorite dark grey t-shirt, Harry prepped his mind for practicing magic. Most days, his job found him using wandless and wordless magic without expending any effort whatsoever, but this island was blocking it somehow. Could it really be the effects of the Bermuda Triangle? He assumed that's where they were. 

"How is it, with all this equipment, the Ministry hasn't had a way to track us yet?" This had been bugging Harry ever since he had woken up that afternoon. "I mean where the hell are we, It's gotta be the Bermuda Triangle or something right? I read about a case once about some wizards scamming muggles by running sightseeing tours through the Triangle. I also think a lot of Dark Wizards used to have private hideouts all throughout the area, the whole Caribbean, in fact. Just one more reason our project is so needed, even now there are probobly loads of Dark wizards hiding out."

"No need to sell it to me. But you're right, there are so many different islands. This would be the perfect place to be if you never wanted to be found. Want have a go at practicing magic?  _ Accio sunscreen. _ " Draco was mildly surprised that the sunscreen on the frisbee table shot straight into his hand with ease. He shrugged his shoulders and applied the sunscreen on his exposed face, neck, and arms since it had been a while anyways. "Alright, Potter, give it a go." 

_ "Accio Sunscreen." _ Harry also had a relatively easy time with this straightforward 1st-year task. He also applied the sunscreen. 

"Did you know that these little bubbles you see popping up are actually little clams that are just under the sand. Wanna try for something with a little more resistance? " Draco smiled and waggled his eyebrows as he issued to challenge. " _ Accio clam by Potter's nasty old clothes."  _ Draco now had a small ugly clam in his hand. He stared at it -relieved to see that it had worked. Surprised, but relieved none the less. 

"Malfoy, that's brilliant. I thought you guys said you were having a hard time with wandless?"

"We were." Draco was still staring at the little shell, wondering why all of a sudden, it was all the sudden easier to summon. It was nowhere as easy as if he had his wand, but it worked better than when he had been out here by himself trying. "Hey Potter, I bet you 50 galleons I can get more of these little things than you can."

"A fat lot of good the money will do you here, but you're on." 

Harry and Draco played their little game as the sun started making its descent from the sky of who could wandlessly  _ Accio _ the most clams as they peaked up through the sand. Their score stayed tied as they walked up and down the beach, looking for the telltale bubbles popping up through the wet sand until the sun had nearly set. Feeling confident in their resurrected skill, Harry looked to the location they had landed four days ago. He summoned every ounce of energy he could, blissfully ignoring the clams and Draco scoring two more while his focus was shifted. 

_ "Accio Draco's Wand _ ." 

Nothing, Harry could felt the magic inside him; he just couldn't feel the magic connecting with anything outside of himself. He would be lying if he didn't feel defeated. 

"Don't let it worry you mate. My wand is probably 20 feet beneath the waves out there." Draco pointed towards the rocky reefs some 150 yards out. There was some anguish displayed on his face, knowing his wand was so close, yet so far. "That would be near impossible even with your magic working correctly. I guess you did have had a hold of my wand there for a while, but we may have a better chance if the actual wand owner tries. Here take these." He deposited his more substantial collection of little clams into Harry's pile. He stood at the water's edge, drawing on something deep inside him. 

" _ Accio, my wand _ ." Draco tapped his magic, and with everything he had, projected out but received nothing in return. The anguish turned to grief. 

Harry turned toward Draco and put a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. He hated seeing his friend disheartened but knew he would never have an opportunity to snatch the snitch like he had right now, "Malfoy…" He let the silence ring between them for only a moment. "If I had had a hold of your wand. There would be no question about it." 

He smiled and squeezed his shoulder before he turned to start his trek back to camp, leaving an actually speechless Draco in his wake. 

Smelling an enticing aroma, his nose lead the way back to the tent. His eyes were greeted by the sight of Hermione in a light blue backless sundress swaying in front of what looked like a charcoal grill perched upon a bamboo stalk made table. Hypnotized by her hips syncing perfectly with a rhythm his brain just picked up on, he saw that she was dancing to Florence +the Machine's "The Dog days Are Over." He stood watching her, enjoying seeing this carefree and joyful side of his best friend. She spotted him and danced over to him, singing loudly along with what must be Draco's iPhone, he found his own hips wanting to move along with hers, she made other parts want to move as well. 

"Harry, how are you feeling? I'm sure it feels better to have taken a bath, but how do your ribs feel, and your foot?" Like she was a mediwitch, and he was her patient, she came over and started touching his side where his cracked ribs should have been throbbing. Her head is still bobbing along slightly with the music.

"Never better." In all honesty, he did not expect his healing to excel this rapidly. After what they told him about this island, and how the magic and her wand did not work, he did not expect much from the potions they had given him.

"Great, dinner's ready. I hope you don't mind fish. Draco caught it earlier. I'd like to try to conserve what we have as much as possible since we don't know how long we will be here, but tonight as this is the first night you are with us. I thought we would celebrate." 

Hermine had outdone herself. With the light emitted from all the tech inside the tent, Harry was able to see she had created a fine-dining space. She had an old 'Chudley Cannons' blanket spread across the top of a foldable table like an elegant tablecloth. Three little jars sat next to three bowls made out of what looked like large abalone shells, and in the middle of the table was a bottle of rum. The music had changed, it was now some Alicia Keys tune. 

"Watch this…" Hermione breathed towards him, her hips still swaying in her blue sundress to the music.  _ "Ardeo Innoxium."  _ Her little bluebell flames filled the three jars. 

"Look here, little witch, you're not the only one who's been getting better at the wandless magic," Draco exclaimed confidently as he took her in his arms as if they were going to do the waltz right there on the sandy ground, she met his dance form expertly. He spun her around gracefully to the R&B tune till her back was pressed against his chest. He then switched gears and grooved slowly against her; as he whispered close to her ear, but loud enough for Harry to hear, "I didn't know we were dressing up for dinner, You look good enough to eat Granger." 

Hermione struggled, albeit weakly to get out of his hold. With the most Umbridge like "Hm-hm," Harry had ever heard - the very red, but smiling Hermione encouraged them both to sit at the "dining room" table. 

"Hermione, this smells amazing.", Draco remarked as he pulled up one of the logs they had sat around the table as their chairs. 

"Yes, 'Mione." Harry agreed. Flummoxed was a good look on her. "This smells better than anything Molly could ever make."

She served up the fish off of her charcoal grill (she really did tend to be more on the overprepared side) as well as charred pineapples she had grilled up as well. She had various other shelf-stable foods she had pulled out of her bag in celebration of Harry's first night awake with them for them to feast on. She poured them each a glass, and as was the custom, all three glasses went up in the air waiting for the customary toast.

Much to Hermione's surprise, it was Harry that spoke up first with the salutation. "To you, Draco, and your ambition and your desire to set a course and see it through. And to you. 'Mione, and your compassionate nature and being willing to "surrender the  _ me _ for the  _ we _ ," so to say, thank you both… Cheers." 

"Here, here, Potter."

"Cheers Harry, Cheers, Draco." Hermione's eyes settled on Harry as the two men in front of her kicked back their rum, and Harry' toast resonated inside her. She had always thought her guys just ignored her little motivational speeches, but he had remembered one.

Even though not an ideal situation, she was actually enjoying the time she was getting to spend with these two. She saw a whole new side of Draco she had never seen before - _ was that what I think it was when we were dancing, no, that doesn't make much sense unless he had been turned on by Harry. I know I was… Wait, what! Nevermind.  _ And Harry, vulnerable was not a state Harry let a lot of people see him in. The fact that he is NOT more upset about being in a virtually "induced coma" for four days shows his trust for her and Draco. Yes, she was definitely enjoying this little forced holiday. 

They enjoyed their dinner and went over what they thought the ground rules should be as far as who cooks and who cleans up. Hermione and Draco informed him they had not seen any sign of any animals so far; however, that did not mean that there would not be any. Harry insisted he would do the clean up that night since he had been out of order for the last several days. He had to keep reminding Hermione he was fine and really did feel better, which he really did. 

As he cleaned up the spread of food and scrubbed the grill clean, he let his mind wander to how the sleeping arrangement was going to work and, more importantly, how it had been working? He had been occupying the only bed for the last four days, so where had Hermione and Draco been sleeping? Were they sleeping somewhere else? Together? Did that bother him? He remembered the conversation they had been having as he woke up, Hermione had talked about bedmates, so maybe they were all sleeping on the one mattress together. That didn't sound so bad to him. Of course, when he had thought of sleeping with Hermione, it hadn't necessarily been in this situation. And how did he feel about sleeping with Draco…  _ Whoa, ok… It is quite literally sleeping, reign it in Harry. You are an adult, start acting like one; didn't Draco say he sleeps naked…. _

"Harry," Came Hermione's voice from behind him, scaring him slightly. "I was going to read before I went to sleep, but I wanted to see if you needed any help first."

She had changed out of the cute little blue dress that she had on earlier and now looked comfy, especially in the oppressive July tropical heat. A few years back, during Harry and Ginny's happier years when they would spend quite a bit of time going out with their friends on the weekends. They would often end up crashing at one another's homes on the nights when too much alcohol had been imbibed. He is no stranger to seeing Hermione in her nightclothes. 

Never before though had he noticed how adorable she was in her grey t-shirt that said, "I like big books, and I can not lie" that Harry had got her her 21st birthday, so very long ago. Her little sleep shorts showcased her long tan legs that ended in feet encased in large obnoxious looking cats. In fact, adorable was not the word that was coming to mind as she stood there silhouetted by the moonlight-it was more like provocative. 

"Um… Yeah, Just finishing up. I'll be in a mo." 

She smiled at him and turned to go back, giving him a view of those same legs, just different angles. His mind went to Ginny; briefly, he had been devastated when she left him 18 months ago for Katie fucking Bell… But even now, the anger and rage he would usually feel at her duplicity was replaced. Right now, he was picturing himself getting this last abalone bowl washed and getting inside and in bed next to her. 

In his mad rush to finish cleaning up and get back inside, Harry had momentarily forgotten about Draco. But how could one forget about the white-blonde, normally alabaster skinned but now slightly tanned, shirtless and presumably pantsless Slytherin? Laying there with one hand rubbing his toned pec gently while his other hand held up a book called a 'Throne of Games' or something like that. 

He was so lost in his book, Harry was able to absorb the sight before him. He had never been attracted to a male before, well, there was that one time, but he had never told anyone. But looking at Draco right now, the same word popped into his mind as what had just moments ago with Hermione- provocative. He must still only be having endorphins from seeing Hermione in next to nothing….

"See something you like Potter…", Draco yawned out, keeping his gaze intent on his page in front of him while he absently rubbed at his muscles. Laying on the far end of the mattress, he had the burgundy sheet pulled up close to his midsection.

"Right...." Choosing to ignore this prompt for verbal Quidditch as he was in no shape to play, he would go down in flames…  _ Maybe going down is not the right thought right now… _ "So, how is this going to work? "

"Same way we have done it the last several nights, of course." Hermione, who must have made a stop at the loo after she left talking to him, had come up behind him and placed her soft hands on his waist to squeeze past him in the confined space, once again startling him... _ Not good, my senses are supposed to be on point, I am an Auror for Merlin's sake.  _ "So, you had been laying towards that end and Draco towards that end." She pointed out the two sides, she then pointed straight to the middle and said with a smile and what looked like a smirk," I'm in the middle." 

Her feet had at some point come out of her cat slippers, and as he watched, she used her tiny feet to push back the sheets. As she did, the sheet's covering Draco's midsection went down further. Harry saw that either he had won the argument from earlier about sleeping nude, or she was unaware he had won the said case. She had also grabbed a book, and her nose was already in it. His pale hipbone was a sharp contrast to the dark burgundy of the sheets. Warmth washed over Harry as he took in the scene in front of him. A very naked and truth be told, handsome man was laying an arm's length away from one of the most breathtaking women he had ever seen. Overlooking the fact that these two were his closest friends, he didn't feel what he thought he would- jealousy. Instead, he felt desire. 

Harry kicked his sandals off and reached to the hem of his shirt and lifted it off. If Draco was going to sleep naked, he might as well too. 

All at once, every hair on the back of his neck stood up, he let his shirt drop. His Auror instincts told him something was not right. Hermione and Draco must have picked up on something as well, maybe the tension coming off of him as they both rose from the bed. Draco not caring about his brief nudity while he stepped into the cargo shorts next to the bed. Hermione had his multitool in her hand, the flashlight already turned on, and a long knife extended from its designated spot. 

As he turned silently yet swiftly, ignoring the slight catch in his side, Harry's eyes scanned the beach, searching for the disturbance. It felt magical, it felt slightly familiar and not in a positive way. His first thought was Dementor. Draco was by his side. Harry noticed in Draco's hand, he held a long stick that had been whittled into a point at the end. Where had they been hiding these weapons? Just then, Harry saw movement out of the corner of his eye. 

"What…?

"Is that, Harry?" Hermione finished Draco's thought in a whisper, they had obviously also seen the black figure floating up into the jungle canopy further down the beach and away from them. 

To Be Continued...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading, the reviews, the bookmarks, and the kudos !! I appreciate it all more than you will know. I know this is left as a cliffhanger, but I have all but the last chapter is written and Beta'd so the next chapter will be up very shortly.


	3. Things That go Bump in the Night

"Are you fucking kidding me. A fucking dementor on our bloody island. What next, Voldemort reincarnated gonna pop over tomorrow for tea- oh, don't mind me, I'm just here for the spotted dick… Fuck". 

This was not the way Draco had wanted his night to go. His legs propelled him from one side of the tent to the other, observing the others' reaction to the scene they had seen just moments ago. Harry barely moved from the perimeter of the camp; his eyes stayed fixed to the area where they had all three seen the inky black figure drift into the treeline. Hermione's frantic page-turning did not help quell his anxiety at all. She was usually cautious with books, but she had one tome stuffed inside an old school textbook as a place marker, another had her bright pink pen stuffed in between its pages. A third book was in her hand as she violently went back and forth between pages searching for what, Draco had no clue.

"Not a dementor, no, possibly a boggart. But that can't be right…", Hermione was now starting to mumble to herself." Unless, well, that would make sense, then wouldn't it. The last known sightings were in a Pacific chain of Islands, though. Still, It fits the description physically, and we had each of us been displaying bits of magic, which would have attracted it to us." 

"Potter, you may want to get in here, Sherlock may have something." Having eavesdropped on her private musings, Draco was eager to hear what they were dealing with.

"Well, It's just… Do you both remember Luna and Rolf Scamander’s wedding a couple of months ago?" She started as Harry entered the dimly lit room but kept his sentinel at the front entrance.

"It's' hard to forget a wedding where the bride wore a pink wedding dress in animal print and a crown of flowers, but yeah, what of it?" 

"Rolf had made a comment about people commonly confusing a rare tropical beast, the Lethifold with the Northern Hemisphere Dementors. From what I am reading here", she picked up her old school textbook, “It states that 'scholars of old had long believed the Lethifold whose habitat is a warm tropical climate, was related to the Dementor as they share common forms of movement, inhumane behaviors and their vulnerability to the Patronus charms. But more modern and advanced research has come forth to dispel such myths, and the deadly dark creature has been classified as a beast; See page 398 for description'." Hermione then promptly turned to the said page as her face lost all color, which prompted Draco and Harry to come behind her to see what had her so shocked. 

Looking up at them from the pages of the ancient tome was hand-drawn accounts of what they could tell was most definitely not a Dementor; this looked much worse. 

"Right, so... a Patronus... We just work extra hard on conjuring our Patronuses." Harry had gone back to his post at the door, scanning the distance for something out of the ordinary. 

"But wait, Harry, It says here, 'The Lethifold locates its prey through its ability to detect magic. Researchers believe the blind, mute, and deaf beast will attack only when it senses magic in large quantities.' See, if we try to conjure our Patronus', then that will attract it more. That is what draws it. We can't practice casting the spell what will get rid of it, without attracting it." 

"Well, we will have to figure that out. We need to try to get some rest, we will obviously have to sleep in shifts. I will take the first watch so you both can get some sleep, and then Draco, I'll wake you when I absolutely can not stay awake any longer. Sound all right?" Head Auror Potter was here and was prepared for the night ahead. His mind had already shifted to fight, or flight and Harry was not one to back away from a fight. 

"I don't know Harry, you are still healing." Hermione tried to interject. 

"I'm fine, Hermione, get some sleep." That was final, she knew he was on duty now. As hard as it would be to close her eyes and let sleep claim her knowing what was prowling outside their encampment, she had complete faith in Harry. She knew no matter what, he was willing to sacrifice his "me" for the collective" we," and there was no use fighting it. 

As she watched him walk out of the tent, she sank down onto the mattress as tears started to come to her eyes as fear of the unknown began to settle in. Hermione was not a weak girl that allowed tears to fall unbidden often. Still, this particular vulnerability was unfamiliar and almost physically painful. She felt a set of muscular arms fold around her as she unleashed her anxiety in the form of tears. Draco's calming shushing and his hand patting down her hair had the opposite effect probably than what he was trying for as she just cried harder into his bare chest. She felt his chest heave slightly and looked up to see tears streaming down his face as well. This unleashed a new torrent of tears, mixed with a wail of unspoken bitterness that they had not been able to properly grieve their situation. 

Lack of control was usually a very distressing feeling for her, but she didn't even have a lack of control at this point, she had NO control - she had no magic, she had no answers, all she had right now was trust in the man outside who would give his life to protect her and confidence in the man who held her in his arms. She clung to him as they allowed one another to purge their personal grief until both their hiccups and snorts turned into the soft breathing of sleep as it finally took them. 

Sometime after setting up a perimeter to guard, Harry had gone back in the tent to get the books Hermione had been looking at. Something inside of him felt like he should feel bad about how short he had been with her earlier, that maybe he should have stayed through her emoting; that’s what best friends do. But the two others had put so much into this little homestead in such a short amount of time, he had to do anything he could to help protect it. He felt confident that Draco could see to her emotional needs as he set out to physically protect as best he could. 

It looked like Draco had helped ease emotions pretty well, they were laying on the bed entwined together fast asleep. Hermione's head and hand resting on Draco's chest. He had one hand entangled into her mess of curls while his other hand- oh merlin, his other hand was resting overtop his thankfully clothed crotch. So why did he not feel like the odd man out here? He actually felt immense relief that Draco had been there for her while she cried. She didn't do it often, but when she did, it was a tsunami of emotions, his priority had been to maintain the perimeter and keep making sure the threat did not return. He grabbed the books as silently as he could and moved back outside - he would let them sleep, they needed it. 

He used the remainder of the night to read what little research there was on this dark, terrifyingly dangerous creature. He learned they were attracted to magic of all forms; light, dark, neutral, and even accidental. But it didn't say anything about magical items, so Hermione's bag should be safe. They were kept away and could also be maimed and even killed by corporeal Patronuses. It was starting to make sense why magic would not work here, someone had deactivated magic on this island, someone who knew the Lethifold was here and a threat. He felt a little more at ease, knowing they would not be targeted, but that also meant practicing magic was out of the question. 

"You know that's what we have Granger for…To do all the heavy research." Draco said in a low voice from behind him as he plopped down on the sand next to him. "Well, maybe some other things too. All right there, Potter? See anything else from our new neighbor? 

"No, idle hands… You know the old saying. Figured I would read up on it too, take a little of the pressure off of Mione."

"So what's the consensus, are we all gonna die? Did your scar attract it?"Draco was playing idly with the sand under his leg. 

"Funny you mention that…" Harry's face fell as he recalled being underwater and being pulled up by Draco as he was also being pulled back lightly by something else. "Good Godric, Draco. I just realized, when you were pulling me out of the water, there was something in the water trying to pull me back in. I think this thing was in the water that day. Look, mate, I don't know how I can ever repay you for that seriously. Thank you." 

Brushing off his gratitude like it was just another day at the office, Draco muttered "life Debt" under his breath. "Wait, Harry, didn't Hermione say that it is attracted to magic? That would make sense then, the portkey we came in on would've been radiating with magic right." Draco closed his mouth promptly like he had said something he wasn't supposed to have said. Then shrugged his shoulders, obviously ignoring that second thought. "So, no more practicing magic."

"Nope, no more practicing magic," Harry said on a yawn as he looked out at the ocean waves. Dawn would be coming soon. His side ached, his head ached, everything about him ached. He was ready for rest, but he was also just enjoying sitting with his friend watching the waves chase each other across the sand in the waning moonlight. 

Draco let about 10 minutes of companionable silence go by before he stood up and took his shirt off, tucking it into the waistband of his sports-like shorts. "Alright, enough sitting around, I'm gonna go for my morning run. You, uh… want to join me? I just run down about two miles to that point and back." 

"Are you kidding me. Back at Auror training, they had these rooms that would constantly change landscapes, helping us face different challenges or some load like that. Each morning, we had to do our physical training there, well see, we were supposed to be assigned random rooms, but I always seemed to be the lucky bastard that got the sand room. On more than one occasion I think I came home with more sand then I left there, Gin used to get so mad." He laughed slightly at the memory, it was nice he was able to start remembering the good parts about his previous marriage without getting upset. "So no, you can do your bloody sand run on your own. Besides, I now dub thee, On duty. I am gonna go lay down and try to rest. My bones are aching." 

Draco reached his hand out to assist him in getting up. "Suit yourself, old man." Harry accepted the help and placed his hand in Draco's outstretched one. Pulling him up a little more abruptly than either was expecting, Draco reached out with his other hand to help steady his friend. At the same time, Harry's other hand reached out to steady Draco. They stood there for longer than either one even realized, an odd buzzing pumped through and between them. Harry jumped back and started towards the tent, turning back halfway through his walk to see Draco watching him walk. A satisfied smirk on his face. 

'What the hell was that?' That had been the same feeling he was feeling the day before when they had been practicing; he hated how corny it sounded in his head, but it felt like magic. He would have to be careful about that. 

He entered the tent and kicked off his shoes. Without even undressing, he went right over to the bed, where Hermione was still sleeping peacefully, to lie down. Trying not to wake her in the process- She was not a morning person, best to let her rest as long as she could. He was just starting to feel sleep's subtle embrace when he felt a different kind of embrace. Hermione had turned over and was now laying atop of him the way she had been with Draco earlier. Harry adjusted her slightly, making sure they were both comfortable. As sleep overtook him, he was blissfully aware that he still felt that odd buzzing feeling.

The sun streaming through the tent opening assaulted Hermione's eyes. She squinted and tried to rub at them with the hand that was not pinned down by something. She felt the heavenly pressure of another human being pressed against her back, and a hand laid softly on her hip bone. She could hear gentle snoring against her ear, nowhere near as loud and raucous as Ronald's had been, though. The low timbre of it created a buzzing sensation that started at her ear and went down, way down. She moved her eyes over to the arm, snaked underneath her head, and was looped over her own hand against her chest. Fascinating, dark hair, so Harry, not Draco...Who knew he was such a cuddler. Hermione could smell the charcoal grill burning outside and could tell by where the sun was positioned inside the tent that it must be nearing lunchtime.

There had been a few situations where Harry and Hermione had fallen asleep on a couch together. Still, each of those situations could be considered platonic and innocent. But as she adjusted herself slightly, she ascertained that she would not classify this as an innocent encounter. He was still emitting the same low tonal breathing, so he was lost to sleep- Dreaming probably of redheads or maybe blondes. She had noticed Harry returning Draco's flirting as of late as well as the way they looked at each other when they didn't think she was looking. She had known that Draco had been holding a candle for Harry for quite some time now, even if he never let his intentions be known. But she knew; he had become one of her closest friends second only to Harry.

Her bladder interrupted her brain at that moment, reminding her that there were things far more critical than cuddling someone she ought not to be. She gingerly moved out of Harry's embrace as he rolled over onto the other side of the mattress. Grabbing a little bag with her shower stuff in it and a fresh pair of clothes, she tiptoe-ed out of the tent. She made her way to the ingenious loo/shower Draco had spent the first day or two working on. She looked around for him as she stepped into the little hut to make sure she was truly alone. She saw him far off in the distance, standing in the waist-deep water of the cove with his spear poised over his head, ready to strike at some unsuspecting fish. He would often be down there for hours and had yet to ever return without at least 1 fish.

In the last 4 years of them knowing each other, she would have never guessed that Draco Malfoy was an avid fisherman until two nights ago when he let it slip. His addiction to the sport started back when he attended college with just killing time on the weekends. Then he began entering Bass tournaments, and it had only escalated from there. Inside the little hut with the banana leaf walls that just covered the bare essentials, she started her morning routine. Looking back out at the mighty fisher, she admired his patience for waiting for the precise moment to pull his line and hook a fish - or, in this case, throw his spear. His father would not be caught dead fishing, so of course, that was why he did it.

As she finished shaving her legs, armpits, and other areas, she filled an empty coca-cola bottle with water from the rainwater catchment system so that she could get her hair wet to wash it. She didn't mind the ocean baths, but she enjoyed putting all his hard work to use. It also gave her some alone time with herself that everyone needs once in a while. After wetting down her full head of curls, she put the calming scented lavender shampoo in her hair and massaged it in. As soon as her hair and naked body were lathered up, she pulled the little lever above her head. This was only the 2nd time she had used this and knew from past experience that she had 2 minutes of running water, tops. She scrubbed herself in the not-as-cold as she had been expecting flow that came out of the plastic water bladder up above her as quickly as she could. As the last of the stream came down, she finished by brushing her teeth and then putting on her sunscreen and moisture combo. She washed up the clothes she had worn to bed the night before and laid them out to dry and put her favorite little black bikini on as well as her green khaki style shorts. She threw a button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up on over top of it, knowing as the heat got more oppressive throughout the day, that would be the first to go. She collected up her things to head back up towards camp. She didn't see Draco out in the little cove anymore, he must've caught something and headed back, but she did see hanging from the top railing some of Draco's clothing he had washed the other day. Deciding to take it back up to camp for him, she reached out for his black oxford shirt, awareness dawned on her…. The Lethifold!! She started looking around in a panic, feeling like she was being watched, but knowing as long as they were not performing any magic, they would be ok. 

The whole walk back up to the tent, she chastised herself for being so careless to forget about such a threat. Hearing voices, she stopped just as she rounded the bend to listen in. 

"Ok, your turn. If you could have anything from your normal life here, right now. What would it be." 

"Hmm...anything? Then without a doubt, I'd have to say my bed." She heard Harry say confidently.

"Your bed, what do you have against Hermione's air mattress? At least you didn't say something stupid like a tea kettle."

Hermione had been about to let her presence be known until it dawned on her Draco had just called her by her first name. In their Professional environment, he would occasionally call her by her name but very seldom. She hugged the clothing in her hands close to her chest as she smiled at this little token of affection he obviously had not meant to give out. She was going to cherish it nonetheless.

"Yeah, I mean, my bed is awesome. It's a King-size, state of the art, sleep number mattress that you can only get from the States. Mundungus got me a good deal on it, don't ask... " Harry remarked, most likely to a strange face from Draco in regards to him receiving what may or may not be stolen goods from Mundungus Fletcher. "You'd love it, so it has sensors that adjust the firmness of the mattress, and this particular model has dual sensors. I had some charms added to it to make it temperature controlled. So on the nights when it's super cold, my bed stays nice and warm. And nights here, we would be sleeping in chilled perfection. So yes - as an answer to your question, if I could have one thing with me now, it would be my comfortable mattress." Harry got quiet for a moment, and Hermione wished she were in a position to see them and not just hear them. "Of course, Hermione doesn't look to be minding the mattress here very much at all. She, uh... looked pretty comfortable laying on your chest last night." 

Hermione choked on her breath as she waited to see how Draco would respond. Was Harry mad at her for cuddling up to Draco? Was it awkward?

"Saw that did you…" She could hear the smile in Draco's voice. "Just so you know, while you were healing, when she wasn't curled up to me at night, she was curled up to you. But um… Yeah, I kind of wish we had your big old bed here as well, Harry." 

Hermione shook her head, sure she hadn't heard him correctly. He may have used her given name before, but NEVER, had she heard Draco call him Harry to his face. He definitely had a thing for Harry, and she started creeping backward towards anywhere but here to give them some privacy. 

"What about you, Granger - what item would you have here if you could?" 

She'd been caught. She took a deep breath with her head held high, left the comfort of her spot from behind the tent, and walked over to the little stove to where there was a pot with water boiling on top of it. She plucked the teabag out of Harry's hand, he must've been heating up the water for his own cuppa. She poured the water in an empty mug and grabbed her hat and sunglasses that were hanging outside for easy access and turned to walk down to the beach chairs to enjoy her tea. Halfway down, she spun around to see them watching her walking away as she yelled out.

"My tea kettle." 

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

After waking up late, Harry spent most of the rest of the afternoon using whatever was available to set up perimeter alarms. He recognized that there was a remote chance that accidental magic was a possibility; in fact, he was pretty sure he had felt some this morning. He also used this time to really scout out the area, see what other possible types of resources he could bring back to base camp. 

Finishing his loop around, he entered the beach closest to the cove a far distance from the encampment where he was surprised to see Hermione. As Harry stared from a distance at her, as she was not aware yet of his presence, the word provocative kept coming back to him. She was lying on her stomach in her black bikini with her nose in a book, and he was close enough to see her worrying her lip. 

He looked over her body, noting that for someone who claims to hate all forms of exercise, she was fit. From her slender tan neck, down her back, that flowed up into her glorious arse and her slim glistening legs. Harry had never considered himself an "ass-man," but seeing the perfectly formed globes under the tight fabric of her swim costume was causing him to feel uncomfortable in places. He saw the fleshy point where her hips met her thighs, and all of a sudden, he got another image in his mind. The way the sheets had pulled down on Draco last night and Harry was able to see the seductive bend where his hips met the top of his thigh. Two opposite sides, two different people, but as Harry stared at her and thought of Draco, he had never felt so conflicted. 

Harry's life could never be defined as easy; he had suffered enough in this life; first, his childhood, then the war, onto a marriage that may have been doomed from the get-go. He wanted happiness and didn't want to ever see a limit to finding that happiness. Why should a person's gender be a limitation? There was no doubt in his mind that Draco had been flirting with him lately. With what he felt in the early pre-dawn hours when they had touched, there was something there that, like all good mysteries, deserved to be investigated. But then he remembered the beautiful sea goddess laying out mere yards in front of him and wanted nothing more than to walk up to her, turn her over and snog her senseless. He had never wanted two people at the same time before. Just picturing them both and those points of their bodies that most people would never see, he ached physically, his cock had come to life as he visualized them both. He reached down to adjust himself over his shorts, which felt oh so good; he closed his eyes, which made his visual grow more vivid. Hermione was no longer by herself on the beach, she was now in the tent where the image of Draco and his flimsy burgundy covering resided. Harry was overwhelmed with emotions, most good but some not so good. He knew he needed to stop what he was doing, this was not respectful to either of them. Shame started to wash over him at what he had almost given into. Harry turned to head back the way he had come, but he tripped over a downed branch he had not seen. There go my stealthy Auror skills. 

"Who's there? Draco? Harry? 

"It's just me 'Mione." Harry could not be more embarrassed. 

"Harry, where are you? Oh, there you are." She had just found the clearing he had been in and rushed over to him, "Are you ok, Is it your ribs? I knew you weren't completely honest with me." She helped lift him up as they walked out of the brush and over to the beach where her towel was. 

"No, I really am fine, honestly. Just lost in thought." Harry said all this coldly as he looked up at the tent, where Hermione knew a resting Draco was.

"Harry, here sit down, let me look at your ribs please." She pushed him down onto her towel and started to take his sweat-soaked shirt off. " It will be easier to look at it once this is off." 

Harry was having a hard time breathing. She was so close, he could smell her sunscreen mixed with the scent a person has after soaking in the warming sun rays for a long time. There was also the distinctly Hermione smell to her that had him questioning how he could have ever been in the same room with her and not gone barmy. She had his shirt off and was kneeling down next to him as she ran her two fingers so lightly over his formerly hurt ribs. He closed his eyes to take a deep breath and collect himself, ignoring the little shocks her touch was leaving. He grabbed her hand abruptly to stop her. Pushing her hand away more forcefully than he had intended. Guilt- now he had guilt on top of embarrassment, on top of shame. 

"Sorry, Mione. I'm ok, I promise. I just need a moment."

"Harry, are you ok? What is bothering you?"

Hermione thought through the events of the day. She had left base camp several hours ago with her green suitcase full of books, sunscreen, and some small snacks so that she could focus on reading up on the Lethifold. But had wanted to give Harry and Draco some time alone as well. As much as it killed her, she wanted them both to be happy. She certainly knew Draco would be pleased if he "got to know" Harry a little better, and based on what she could tell, Harry was starting to potentially see things that way as well. She didn't want to interfere with that, it would certainly make things awkward if things progressed between the two men, but she would work through it, she always did. They both deserved so much, and Harry would only ever see her as the big sister - and Draco would never see her as anything because she wasn't, well, Harry. She was starting to understand what may have Harry so distant right now, they must've had words. Something must've happened, did Draco upset him? 

"Is it Draco, you like him too don't you?" She probed lightly, moving from kneeling next to him to sitting on the towel cross-legged. 

Harry looked at her with a blank look on his face. Had she seen him over in the brush;? Did she know somehow he had been about to wank to the image of her and Draco together? Guilt, embarrassment, shame, and now anger that he had gotten to that point. "How on earth could you have possibly known that?" Harry deadpanned at her. 

Hermione closed her eyes slightly, there was confirmation that that is who Harry was thinking about. He was the one that had him wound tighter than a string right now. She felt a tear attempt to breach her lower lid, but she turned her head and swiped at it, pretending to push her hair away. 

"Harry, I have stood by your side since we were 11 years old, do you realize that is almost 20 years now I have watched you have the good things in life snatched right out of your hands? You have faced down every obstacle to only be met with another. I had promised I would not speak ill of Ginny, but that bitch has ripped happiness out from underneath you, and I hate her for that. You don't deserve that Harry, you deserve love, Harry! "The passionate little spitfire was on her knees in front of him, pointing at him as if he were in trouble. He drank in the sight of her so riled up about his lack of happiness… up until he woke up yesterday, that is. "If there was anyone on the earth that deserves to get what he wants, it's you, Harry James Potter, but you have to go after it. You have to be willing to accept it when it is staring you in the face… Do you understand me?" 

He was starting to understand her most definitely. She was right, he had to be willing to accept it when it was staring him in the face. 

"Harry," she had calmed down from her soapbox, but only slightly. She was doing the interpersonal magic thing that she was so skilled at where she placed her hand lovingly on his arm. It was then that he saw she had tears in her eyes." If you want him, you should go after him". 

Harry stared blankly at her; she had no idea. Of course, she had no idea, he had no idea until just now how much he wanted her… No, how much he wanted them both. He loved them both and had for a while now. He had to let her… No, let them know.

"But what if he is not the only one person I want?" Harry took the hand that was on his arm and pulled her towards him, forcing her up onto her knees so that they were face to face. "'Mione, I'm done hiding it, I don't just want Draco. I am also crazy about you, I can't stop thinking about you, and I think you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen and I even almost…" 

Her lips descended on his, stealing his torrid confession away. Not caring if he ever breathed a breath of his own ever again, he met her lips as electricity danced around them. Putting one arm around her waist and the other around her neck, he brought her down onto her back on the towel as he snogged her senseless. He never would have guessed it would feel this magical to have her in his arms, if Harry had had any idea, he would have done this years ago. She let a little moan out as he moved his lips down her neck, wanting to savor every inch of her being. 

"Harry.", She breathed out as her hands roamed the expanse of chest and back that were at her disposal. 

Her name on his lips was what brought him back to the here and now. Panting heavily, he put his forehead against hers… wanting to break through the invisible caution tape he had just put up. He was feeling that buzzing again, and he was starting to suspect it was accidental magic. Not wanting to scare Hermione with his suspicions until he had a clear and level head and could think things through, he brought them out of the lust-filled haze with just a small, but meaning-filled kiss. 

Hermione had never imagined a Kiss could feel like that. She had kissed a fair share of men in her life but never had a Kiss left her not just breathless in the hard-to-breathe sense, but she felt like her lungs were just filled with Harry. They both sat up, feeling almost like school children again, about to be caught out past curfew by the prefects. Hermione really didn't know what came over her. He had said he wanted her; well, no, he said he wanted her as well as Draco. 

Was one allowed to crave more than one person? Here she had desired them both, though knowing Draco was gay, she would never have a chance. And come to find out Harry had been craving them both as well, at least there was a chance for him to have the other person he desires, desire him back… Oh, why do emotions have to be so complicated? 

"Um, I hate to have cut that short, but we need to be getting back up to the tent. I've got some traps I need to set on the tent still, and I'm thinking we may all need to have a sit down" Harry was reaching his hand out to her to help her up from the ground, kissing her softly as soon as she was on her feet. He had meant to do the final perimeter alarms on the encampment as soon as he had gotten back. As the sun was starting its descent, which would go very quickly once it started. Also, he would need to get them both together and inform them of his suspicions regarding the accidental magic that was happening. 

Putting her shorts on over her swim costume and grabbing her things, they made their way up to the tent. Halfway there, It dawned on Harry he left his own supplies down at the cove.

"Would you make sure Draco is at the tent so we can all talk? I've left my supplies for the traps at the beach." Harry then left her with a sweet, promise-filled kiss.

Hermione saw sitting on the little table, two bowls with rice, and some clam meat on top. There was a paper to the side of one that read 'Dinner is served, I'm sure you both worked up an appetite. Enjoy, Malfoy'. The note was an indication that he was elsewhere, so she set off to find him per Harry's request. There were really only a couple of places he could be, and she was right when she went towards the showering area. He was tinkering with the shower, making an adjustment to the mechanism attached to the plastic bladder.

"Granger, it's getting dark. You shouldn't be out walking around without your boyfriend", Draco said as he jumped down from the tree that supported the shower. His voice was cold, and his stare was condescending.

"Draco." He had seen, Oh Merlin. What was she supposed to say to him?

"As you both are probably aware, I refuse to purchase wedding gifts from a registry. It is tacky and frankly ridiculous. I will get you a wedding gift that I see fit, and you will just have to deal with it." 

"Draco, what are you talking about, we kissed …that's all." Hermione was severely downplaying it, but she could see the old spiteful Draco starting to manifest, and she needed to shut that down. "In fact, I don't know that it really meant anything to him at all." This lying thing was challenging, but she wasn't really lying, was she. She had no idea how Harry felt about what happened. He had really just confessed that he was attracted to them both, but that was not her secret to tell. 

"Granger, a woman like you. Trust me, I know what it meant to him, and you are a bloody idiot if you are blind to it." Draco was starting to pace in the little clearing, she could see he was upset… No, not upset, he was in pain. Like a hurt tiger, he would attack first those that hurt him, lick his wounds later." You certainly have turned a blind eye to me…" 

Hermione decided at that moment she would put it all out there, she would just ask for forgiveness later." Draco, yes, he fancies me, but he also admitted he also fancies…" His previous words hit her.

"Wait, I've turned a blind eye to you; what do you mean?" she practically yelled at him. Hermione felt pure agitation right now - what was he talking about? A blind eye to what? The sudden desire for clarification overwhelmed her. Since the day she "rescued "him from the date of doom with Gilderoy Lockheart, she had assumed he was gay. Even if she had never heard him say it, shaking her head, trying to tell herself that that didn't matter. "Draco, You don't even like women, you only shag men." 

Draco turned to her, outraged. Had that been what she had thought this whole time? How could she not see what she did to him, just by being close? It was time he set the little witch straight, no pun intended. He stalked over to where she stood with her fist balled up, and her face set in a snarl that would do 5th year him proud. "Would I do this If I only shag men?"

Draco grabbed the back of her neck as he pressed his lips to hers in a searing hungry kiss. She was unable to think, let alone move at first until her senses kicked in, and she realized she was kissing him back with just as much force. He broke the kiss to look down at her as she took heaving breaths. Still, only in a bikini top, he could see her nipples peeking through. 

"If I only shagged men, would I do this." He huskily breathed into her ear before he kissed down to her bikini-clad breast and took a nipple into his mouth through the fabric. 

"Draco...Ah…"

He laved her through the fabric as he pushed her against a tree and centered himself between her legs. Her legs instinctively wrapped around his waist. 

"Or this…" He gyrated his hip, which sent his hard length up towards her opened legs were even through her shorts, she felt the heat coming off of him. 

Hermione's head was swimming, needing to taste his lips again, she grabbed his head away from her aching breast and kissed him hard. Not sure if this was real or a dream, she wanted to savor the way his lips felt on hers. Surely the buzzing feeling around her was an indication this was all a dream. Still, as he continued his gyrating, she could feel the wetness starting to gather. He had moved her top to the side and was kneading her full breast, taking the nipple between his fingers and rubbing slightly, creating friction, not unlike the one his clothed cock was creating down below.

"Draco, don't stop… I need you", she said between his kisses that were harsh and brutal at the moment, unlike what she had had with Harry not too long ago. Her eyes shot open - Harry. What was she doing? Just at that moment, his rhythm sped up… Her own rhythm was meeting his. This glorious sensation could not be wrong, there is no way. She felt herself getting close to something, she wasn't even sure.

"Hermione, if you would just let me in, I would never stop...ever… woman...I have wanted you for so long. I've wanted your long beautiful legs wrapped around my waist. I want to make you scream my name over and over." His words which were spoken in her ear were starting to drown out the screams she had culminating in her throat, the ones trying to get out between her accelerated breaths. "Come with me, Hermione, together, or not at all. Come, little witch…" 

"Draco, I'm going to come." The steady pace he had set pumping hard into her through her soft shorts was too much. She grabbed ahold of him as she rode against him. His head went back as he gritted his teeth, "together…" They muttered simultaneously as something let loose inside like a Christmas cracker. Draco's breath came out in short pants as his once steady pumps became short and staccato against her.

"Hermione, If I only shagged men, would I say that I am crazy about you and want to do that any chance I can get," Draco whispered into her ear as his body stilled while he held her to him. 

Hermione took the time to get her breathing back in order, "Draco, what about Harry?" She hadn't intended to ask just yet, but she needed to know. Bracing herself for possible fury at bringing up another man at such a time as post-dry-humping bliss.

"Harry will see as soon as we walk in that tent," he chuckled, holding her close to him, so she wasn't brushing up against a tree anymore. "He can make his decision at that time if he is gonna join us. When I said Together, or not at all… I meant all of us Together. Hermione, I'm gonna go out on a limb here, But I think we are all wanting the same thing, but nobody is saying it. Now that you fully understand, I don't ONLY," He used his body to reiterate this by pushing up on her still sensitive area, ‘shag men’. We can sit down and have an adult conversation. Hopefully, one that ends with you underneath me naked instead of against a bloody tree fully clothed." 

Hermione really liked the idea of this absolutely under-used word - 'together.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has read, commented, bookmarked, and Kudo-ed. You have no idea how happy it makes me that people are enjoying this as much as I am. 
> 
> This chapter has a lot of emotion, I know. There is a lot of unknowns going on in the real world right now; Sickness, self-isolation, learning to accept "a new normal'. After I wrote Hermione's emotions out, I realized how the mirrored my own, Though that was not my intention. Draco, Harry, and Hermione's situations are very reflective of what is happening here in good old 2020. And as much as JK talked of the Dementors in the wizarding world portraying depression, I feel like this beast, the Lethifold, is an interpretation of how the unknown can affect us and change our world. I am in no way trying to compare this little fun fanfic to the amazingness that is JK, but it rings true with me. 
> 
> This chapter was just the beginning of why this fic has the rating it has. Enjoy!
> 
> This Is JK's world, I am only playing in it! The Lethifold is a beast is from 'Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them', but a lot of the information I have on it is made up (as is a lot of other things in this fic.)


	4. Research and Development

Hermione should feel guilty. She had just had the best snog of her life from Harry and then not an hour later had one of the best almost shags of her life with Draco - but oddly enough, she didn't. 

She was eager to see Harry and for them to talk about all this. As they walked back in the dark to the tent, they discussed the alarms Harry had put up around the camp - how he was doing the tent last. She also told him that Harry also had something that he wanted to talk to them about. As soon as they got in, Harry was nowhere to be seen. Draco went about changing out of his soiled clothes as Hermione grabbed her nightshirt and shorts to get ready to change for the night. Would this new dynamic change everything? She had always been meticulous about maintaining modesty and only changed when she knew she was alone or was down at the loo/shower. However, modesty seemed like a moot point as she turned to see Draco watching her with pure lust in his eyes.

He was standing in his low-slung pajama bottoms with Slytherin down the side. Hermione was enjoying the way he was watching her with a predatory gaze. She figured while they waited for Harry, she could give in to the playfulness she was feeling. 

She started unbuttoning the buttons on her khaki shorts and pushed them slowly down her hips, bending over slightly as she stepped out of them. She began rubbing her hands up and over her little black bikini bottoms while keeping eye contact with Draco. Who was lounged back on the bed and enjoying the little striptease. Her hips were swaying to a silent rhythm that only she could hear in her head. Rolling her hips in a bit of a shimmy, she put her hands in the band on the bottoms. She teased them down slowly, dancing around, giving Draco a full view of the black fabric skimming her hips, descending down till all he could see was the cleft of her arse. Draco made an audible gulp that made Hermione giggle. 

"You like what you see, Mr. Malfoy?" she teased, pulling the bottoms down inch by inch. Her hips were swaying now; this rhythm, though, was clearly detectable through the whole room. It was like a pulse. 

"Little witch, you are going to be the death of me. Don't you agree, Potter?"

Hermione stopped immediately and pulled her bottoms up slightly. Seeing Harry at the entrance to the tent, she searched his face for any sign of discomfort.

"Please, dear Godric. Whatever you do, do not stop what you were doing." Harry said from where he was standing at the opening to the tent. 

Hermione motioned him over with a smirk, and as soon as he stood right in front of her, she reached her arm around his neck and kissed him. He kissed her back, passionately rubbing his hands up her exposed skin, trying to memorize each inch by touch. She felt Draco's presence before she heard him, wondering how this "talk" was going to go, she turned in Harry's arm, his hands still feeling at whatever he could touch. Draco's hand came up to run his fingers down her jawline softly. She could feel Harry kissing up her neck and over her pulse point as Draco's lips descended on hers. Their tongues danced to the silent rhythm. 

She felt Draco's arm brush her side as he reached past her to Harry's waist, pulling them both into him, causing Harry to gasp in her ear. Hermione wanted to see where this was going to go. She turned in between them but still kept her hands on both of their waists. Draco and Harry looked at each other, both breathing hard as Draco reached his hand up to Harry's jawline and caressed it just like he had hers. Harry moved his face slightly to catch Draco's thumb with his lips. Keeping one arm around her waist, reminding her they were all in this together, Draco closed the distance between Himself and Harry. Their lips meeting as if they were magnets drawn to one another. 

Hermione felt throughout the room electricity; she looked around, almost expecting to see colors dancing. Lips and tongues danced between each other before Draco withdrew his lips to kiss her and bring her into a three-way kiss. 

The sound of empty cans jangling a short distance away brought them all out of the magical spell they had all been under. 

Their magic! Harry had been caught unaware by walking in on Hermione doing the most seductive striptease he had ever seen. He had totally forgotten the whole reason why he had left to go searching for them to begin with. 

"Hermione quick, get dressed. Draco, it's back." It was all Harry had to say, at that moment they knew what was happening. The lethifold was back, and they had been the ones to draw it here. 

Hermione immediately got her shorts back on and her shirt over her head as she heard another alarm go off, this time closer. Dread started to set in, how were they going to protect themselves from this? She grabbed her wand from where it had been placed since she found it held no power, knowing it was a useless stick right now but needing to feel like she had some semblance of control at this point. 

"I felt you both earlier, I'm not quite sure how but, um...You sent off a type of accidental magic. I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier, but I wanted to tell you both together. The thing is drawn to magic of all sorts. And I think the little charges of it we have been setting off without knowing it is why it is here, right now." Harry was trying to maintain his Auror calm, but there was definitely a sense of hysteria in his voice. 

They could hear on the outskirts of the kitchen area. They listened to the little table outside get knocked over by a substantial force. They all three stood next to each other, looking between themselves and the front of the tent. The dark shadow descended upon the opening of the canvas. Harry had no idea what he could possibly do at this moment except try to do the only thing he knew could drive the lethifold away. Their life depended upon that effort. Harry looked to Draco, who nodded his head, obviously knowing their only course of action right now was to fight back. 

Draco and Harry both looked to Hermione, the short petite little witch was already in position with her useless wand in her hand. Still, she was prepared to go down in flames before she let it come in and suffocate either of her men. They all shared a silent acknowledgment that they had one shot at this. They knew what spell they needed to do. Everything they had, every desire to get through this night alive, more importantly, to get them together through this night alive had to go into finding their happiest memories, pulling from as deep inside themselves as they could go. 

Hermione dove for her happiest memories and instantly hit a wall. Her happy moments had always been her parents, but ever since she had obliviated them, everything changed. With Harry's help, they were able to restore their memories. But then Cancer came and did what Cancer does best; destroyed everything and took every happy family memory she had and tore them into pieces. She quickly went to the 10 years she and Ronald had lived together. There was happiness until he chose to join the international quidditch team just as she had gotten on board to the idea of starting a family. After all the pressuring, he had been willing to leave her home alone to raise a child. Sorrow manifested deeper as she remembered his drinking going from a now-and-then random thing to the constant nightly drunken stupor. More often than not, this resulted in Aurors needing to be called. Absolute dismay was creeping closer. She was now afraid that she would not be able to even find a happy memory to try the Patronus spell with. 

She thought back to all the late nights in the office with Draco and Harry. She smiled as she remembered Draco's running commentary at Luna's wedding. "Oi, love, let's hike to a remote mountain and study the blibbering humdinger." "Silly Rolf, the Snorkaxes are the ones in the mountains," he had said in the mock Rolf and mock dreamy Luna voice. Or Harry picking up takeout from the Indian place up the road and not realizing he had ordered the hottest dish they had. He had tried brushing it off as "Not that bad," but she and Draco took a wager as to how long he could hold out before he performed an  _ aguamenti  _ in his mouth. Her smile grew wider as a memory came forward that she hadn't even remembered happening. She, Draco, and Harry were painting a room somewhere, the muggle way, a soft baby blue color on the walls. But now it was on the arse of Draco's jeans as Harry had come over and with paint-covered hands grabbed him while planting a kiss on his lips. 

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!'

Harry had honestly struggled with producing a Patronus ever since the war. Only ever able to maintain a silver mist just long enough to deliver a message, but a full corporeal he had not seen since he was a teenager. One's childhood should've been an obvious starting point for happy memories, and when he had taught new recruits in the past how to cast, that is where he would have them start. But Harry's happy memories did not happen until he went to Hogwarts. He had great memories of his friendships, but his unhappy marriage overshadowed those. Ginny had used him so blatantly, she had wanted the fame that came along with dating and eventually marrying "The Harry Potter." When she blindsided him with the divorce documents and then a week later he saw in the Prophet she was dating Katie Bell, he had been devastated. He sought out a glimmer of happiness, and it was in the form of Draco and Hermione taking him out for drinks the night the Prophet came out. The three of them getting up and drunkenly singing "I will survive" on karaoke. He smiled as a great memory came to his mind. The day tech mag and all their hard work had been approved and rolled out to all the DMLE's in Europe.  _ Yes, come on, I need more _ , he thought to himself as a new thought popped into his mind. He was holding Hermione's hand as she was breathing hard and panting in a large tub of water. Draco was on the other side, clutching her other hand as she screamed out. A Medi-witch brought a crying dark-haired baby out of the water and placed it on Hermione's chest. 

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

Draco had never produced a Patronus. Sure, he knew the basics of how to do it, but he also knew the basics of how crocheting worked; that doesn't mean he could make a damn doily. He knew it involved thinking of your happiest memories, but he didn't really have many of those. It was safe to block off his entire life from birth through age 17. He thought about college; getting far away from Lucius and wizarding Britain had been amazing, but he couldn't necessarily say it was happy. His wedding to Astoria had been lovely, very ritualistic as it was a wizarding family custom. But that had been more stressful than anything having to remember all the steps. The day she told him he was going to dad was the happiest day of his life, but it was followed by the saddest day of his life 5 months later when they both had died. He had felt genuine happiness; when Harry had taken him seriously when he told him his ultimate plans to bring technology into the wizarding world. He had been happy when Hermione agreed to work the magic coding behind his computer coding and didn't laugh him out of the pub where they had met. He had been happy when Harry had started breathing again, he had been glad to wake up each morning to see Hermione cuddled between him and Harry. He had been delighted when they left their welcome back party early to go back to Harry's house, where they all woke up together after an intense night of passion. He had been happy when Hermione came running in and jumped in his arms with a little plastic stick in her hand. Saying they had to think of a creative way to spread the news to Harry. Realizing these were his dreams for the three of them and they were the happiest thing he could think of at the moment, he thought of more as he yelled. 

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

The dark deadly creature looking to suffocate those that possessed magic did not stand a chance as it glided the last several feet into the small space. It was met with three ghostly silver figures. An otter swimming through the air, next to a stag bent down ready to attack and a Snowy owl taking flight, his full wings the width of the tent. The three wispy ghost-like guardian animals charged the beast as it rushed from the opening of the canvas disappearing into the night.

"An owl Draco, really?" Harry panted out. Short on breath from the exhaustion that usually accompanied such a magical feat." I was expecting like a dragon or a cobra. Not bloody, Hedwig." 

"Hey mate, I'm just as shocked as you are." Draco was able to barely breathe out as Hermione rushed them both jumping into their arms with tears running down her face. They all collapsed together onto the bed, Hermione landing on Draco's chest.

"It's weird, but I can still feel my stag out there. I am so dead tired like 'I don't know that I could stay awake if I tried' kind of tired." Harry knew he should be up and patrolling as their Patronus' should be disappearing any time now. Draco reached the hand that was under Hermione over to ruffle through his hair. 

"I can...I can feel her too, she is still out there. I've never been able to maintain her connection before, but I feel like it's an extension from me." Hermione's voice was broken and quiet as tears continued to fall.

"I have never been so tired, do you both think it's safe to fall asleep? I have never done that before, I am literally a Patronus virgin here, how does this work?" Draco was not one to sound unsure, but here he was laying out his vulnerability like a newspaper. 

"Draco, none of this is textbook, that's for sure. I do know that as long as we don't create any more magic tonight, we should be able to all rest. It's always taken a lot out of me to do the Patronus, but this time seems 10 times harder." 

"You hear that little witch. Hands and lips to yourself." But it was no use; Hermione was fast asleep on his chest. Draco bent down and kissed her forehead. Looking up at Harry, he said, "The last one, I promise. Unless you want one too." 

Harry just reached his hand over to grab at Draco's squeezing gently with the silent answer of 'some other time.' 

As Harry's eyelids fought to close, he looked out of the tent to see the silver wisps of their familiars. Having successfully banished the threat, they were now frolicking through the moonlight, playing. 

____________________________________

Hermione's eyes strained against the sunlight streaming through the opening of the tent. When she and Draco had put up the tent their first night here, they paid no attention as to the direction they were putting it in. They both were convinced help would be there in no time. As the days just blurred together, she was glad they had a little alarm clock, as it were. The direction of the tent meant that the sunlight would start cascading through the canopy at precisely 13:27, according to Draco's laptop, which was still on London time. So assuming they were somewhere in the Caribbean, she knew the sun would begin its light show at 8:27 in the morning. She was abruptly reminded of the urging her body always requested first thing in the morning. 

Making her way down to the loo, she was caught slightly off-guard when she spotted the wispy silver form of her otter floating towards her. She reached towards it, not quite sure she wasn't dreaming. It nudged its head under her hand, where Hermione felt soft fur, which made her pull her hand back abruptly. 

_ How is this possible? _

__ She reached out again to the adorable creature floating around her in the air as if it were in the water and ran her hand down it's back. It was not the same as touching a real animal, but very close. Hermione giggled as the otter rushed over to where a silver stag was lying on the ground. She set to finish her mission to the loo, cleaning quickly in the process and changed into the now dry clothes she had washed the day before so she could get back and tell her guys what she had seen. 

She thoroughly enjoyed the sight that greeted her as soon as she entered the tent. The area she had just vacated not that long ago now had two sumptuous looking, shirtless men. Perched on their elbows, talking in hushed voices as their fingers played with the hands of each other. Not wanting to interrupt them too much, she slipped in the bed behind Harry, spooning up to his body. 

"Did you see it too?" Draco said as he looked her in the eyes as her face was perched in the crook of Harry's shoulder. 

"Mm, hm. I don't have any idea how it's possible, but yes. I even touched her, she felt like a real animal." Hermione still could not believe their Patronuses were still very much there and looked and felt so real.

"When I went out to take care of business after you left, my stag walked right up to me. He put his nose right up into my back. Scared the shit out of me too, I at first thought maybe it was the Lethifold coming back." Harry said, still rubbing softly at Draco's fingers but switching his position. He was on his back, forcing her to practically lay on top of his chest. 

"I think the logical solution here is to get this giant think tank of ours to run some tests. Don't you both think?" Draco said, scooting closer to where Hermione and Harry were laying. 

"What kind of test? "Harry asked as he rubbed the fingers of his hand, not currently occupied with Draco's up and down Hermione's back." You know how 'Mione gets turned on if you use words like 'scientific discoveries' and 'research and development.'" 

"Alright, I propose…" He kissed Harry on his exposed chest. "that we test this recent 'development'..." He kissed up further on Harry's chest close to his manly nipples. "that the animals out front, our animals out front, are scientifically and magically created for our protection." He took one of Harry's nipples between his lips, which elicited a groan from both Harry and Hermione. "And if we were to by some chance generate accidental magic..." he licked around his nipple. "Said creations would be guards against any hostile forces within our vicinity. I think it would be foolish..." He was up on his hands and knees now peppering kisses up Harry's clavicle and into his neck, "if we didn't 'research' this to discover its full potential." By this point, Draco's face was utterly level with Harry and Hermione's who both were breathing deeply. 

Draco greeted Hermione's lips as Harry started kissing his neck and rubbing his hands around on Draco's chest. 

"What do you say, Ms. Granger, you up for a little studying this morning?" Harry teased out as he moved away, allowing Draco to continue his assault on her neck and lips. 

A breathy moan was all she could get out as she rubbed her hands down his elegant back to grab a handful of his muscled arse. 

"I'll take that as a yes," he nipped her bottom lip, "Now the big question is, Mr. Potter, are you up for a little experimentation?" Draco had raised himself up to look at Harry in the eyes, asking the question they had all been too afraid to ask outright.

Harry reached out and captured Draco's lips with his own. Licking lightly at his bottom lip as Hermione moved to tug at the buttons of Harry's jeans to help loosen the restraints on his straining erection. 

"I'm going to classify that as a strong yes. I think we should start with the witch beneath us, don't you." Draco said, turning his hungry eyes on her. 

Harry did not need to answer, he went straight towards her shorts and pulled them off. Draco went back to kissing her neck as he pulled the hem of her shirt up and over her head.  Harry stared at the sight beneath him, He was between her long tanned legs and bent down to start kissing her thighs as he put his fingers inside the waistband of her sporty looking knickers. He pulled them slowly down and threw them over his head as he put his face into her soft dewing curls. 

"Harry, please." Hermione moaned out. 

"Tell him what you want of him, Hermione. Remember, this is for science." Draco said, his voice slightly unsteady. 

"I want your tongue on me...and…and your fingers inside of me." She choked out, her body starting to move to the pulsing rhythm in the room. 

He flicked his tongue out, licking the seam of her puffy lips to spread the moisture that had gathered there around, making her gasp even harder. He placed a finger softly at her entrance as he took a brief moment to look outside the tent where he saw the animals playing. Draco's owl which resembled Hedwig so much, he would have to think later on when his mind was not consumed with devouring her. He felt safe enough that they were guarding and could indeed keep the lethifold at bay. He knew without a shadow of a doubt, this would test the animal's ability as there was about to be a lot of magic emitted from the small enclosure. His tongue found her clit and started circling her there before working his fingers inside her. In and out to the rhythm of the buzzing, tasting her divine essence.

"Ahh, Harry..." Her scream punctuated the air. "Draco, I want to touch you while Harry touches me." She added with a feral look in her eyes. 

Draco stopped his sucking on her nipple to push his pajama pants off fully. Never one to enjoy wearing pants, his erection sprung free. Harry looked up from his feast and felt himself get even harder as he saw the tantalizing scene of Hermione wrapping her hand around Draco's fascinating cock. Pumping steadily to the same beat as his finger inside of her. 

Draco leaned back as he watched her hand pump his organ and felt Harry's non-occupied hand on the back of his thigh. Draco was so overwhelmed with excitement at seeing her crest the edge of her orgasm. He didn't know if he would ever not remember this moment and how she trembled beneath Harry's ministrations. 

"Harry, I need you inside me now. Draco, I want to taste you." 

That's all Harry needed to hear; he sat up and tore his jeans off, not caring if they ripped in the process. He moaned audibly as he looked over to see Hermione taking Draco's impressive length into her mouth, both of them whimpering as she sucked on him. At the same time, her other hand reached over to pay attention to her own neglected breast. 

Harry was back between Hermione's legs with his own cock in his hand, teasing her soaked opening slightly. Nearly coming at the sight of seeing her lips on the god-like blonde. He pushed into her as Draco brought his face to Harry's and kissed him deeply. Harry could tell they were all so very close to coming. He thrust into her repeatedly while his tongue danced with Draco's and Hermione's panting and moans created a vibration on Draco's cock that brought him to the edge. 

Hurried, passion-filled cries permeated the room as well as a Silver light as they all three came at the same time. Harry inside Hermione's tight quivering sheath and Draco into Hermione's ready and willing mouth. Harry gave a few final punctuated thrusts into Hermione, allowing her to ride out her orgasm as long as possible. He leaned down into her and kissed her deeply, not caring at all that Draco's sperm was in her mouth. 

They all three heard the palpable steady thrum of magic buzzing throughout the atmosphere. They even noticed a faint silver glow radiating above them, it was almost like a  _ protego  _ had been __ cast around their little home. Draco quickly got up and went to the opening, looking around for the dark presence they almost expected to see. 

"They all three are about 200 yards down the beach, it looks like they are definitely keeping it at bay. They are walking back and forth at the treeline." Walking over to where Harry and Hermione were both sitting on the edge of the bed, ready to react if need be." I think we can consider this experiment a success. Don't you?" He knelt down between the two of them, taking their faces in his hands and put his forehead to theirs. 

Harry replied with a devilish smirk, "I dunno, I definitely see a lot more experimentation needing to take place before we deem this a success." 

"Too right, Potter. But I think we all need to eat before we attempt any more experiments." Draco laughed out as they all cleaned up and put their clothes back on- Some more than others. Draco was more than happy to just be in his pajama bottoms and nothing else. 

"I hate to be a killjoy here, but what just happened? I mean, it was hands down the most fantastic thing that has ever happened to me, but we kind of need to find out how we were able to do that and what exactly that was. I don't know about you two, but I have never encountered that before."

"I have this one time at Uni, lots of alcohol and a game of truth or dare gone haywire. Oh, you mean the feelings and the light thingy, not the threesome." He replied quickly as Hermione gave him that look of incredulity that she was so good at giving. "Now that, I can honestly say I have never encountered that either. Thanks, guys, for popping that proverbial cherry." 

"About that, I feel like we need to all get everything out in the open. All euphemisms and jokes aside." Draco and Hermione both nodded in agreement as they knew they needed to talk and not just let their bodies speak for them.

"So, I'll start," Harry said, almost as if he were leading one of their team meetings back at the ministry. "So Draco, I think it is safe for me to say that you are aware that I am crazy about Hermione...and, wow, this is hard to say it out loud… and crazy for you. I also feel I need to let you know now, I have never been with a guy, or ever really thought about being with a guy until...well, you."

Hermione could tell this was very hard for Harry to verbalize out loud. She admired his strength to say what he was feeling, even though they both knew the man that sat in front of them was not the same mean little brat from school. Still, she knew that to admit feelings to another was hard, even more difficult given their past. 

She spoke up next, wanting to stand in solidarity with Harry. "I'll go next. Harry, you know that you have been the closest thing to me for decades now. Although I honestly thought that you only saw me as a big sister. I had masked my attraction to you for so long out of respect for Ronald and Ginny. I think it was just easier to continue to conceal it after your divorce."

"Hermione, there were so many times throughout my marriage, I wished I had just had the courage to ask you out before you and Ron and, Ginny and I started dating. I think I had always wished it was you. I know that's a lot to hear, but bear with me…" he rushed to add as her mouth dropped open at his confession." Since the divorce, I had been so consumed with grief. But not grief that Ginny had left me, but more so about that fact that I had wasted so much time with someone who wasn't you." 

"Harry, I had no idea…" Hermione was moved by his honesty and quite taken aback as there were times in her own relationship with Ronald; she had felt the same way. She walked over to sit between the two men and hugged him tightly.

"Now, Draco, I feel I owe you an explanation as well." Hermione turned to him, she needed time to think about Harry's confession. She had no doubt about the validity of it. Still, she did not want Draco to feel left out and that this was only a two-sided affair because if she had her way, it most certainly would not be. 

"You thought I was gay, only dated men, and was only interested in Harry. Even though you had been interested in me for quite a long time. But ever since you rescued me from Gilderfuck Lockheart... Don't laugh, Harry, I'll explain later. ...You were convinced you were not my type and therefore were completely ignorant to me coming onto you every chance I had." Draco had gushed all that out as if he were telling them the synopsis of a story, not his innermost emotions. "Might as well get this out too, since we are all sharing… I have been harboring the world's most enormous crush on you both - are 30-year-olds allowed to have crushes? Anyway, since you, Granger threw a punch at me; and since you, Potter threw a curse at me." They stared at him blankly, not realizing this attraction had gone back so far. "I think that about sums it up, eh Granger." 

Hermione simply nodded, he had her figured out even when she hadn't a clue. 

"And as far as you never have been with a man before, truth be told… Um...Yeah, I've only dated blokes, done some heavy, heavy petting and sucked dick before, I've never truly gone 'all the way' with a man though. Close, but not close enough to call it. So there you have it. Harry, you and I are on the same ship." Draco looked slightly uncomfortable talking about his past, but also somewhat relieved to be getting it out in the open." And while I'm getting it out in the open, I can't think of anyone else I would want that to be with than with you two."

Vulnerable was a good look on Draco. It was odd to see, but Hermione enjoyed it. 

__________________________________

They all spent the remainder of the day researching, the traditional way - not the fun way, the situation they all found themselves in. Each finding their own little spot to go to do the studying as they had kept getting distracted by roaming hands when they had tried to just stay in the tent and study.

Draco's book of choice to read was his novel 'Trial of Thrones' or whatever it was called. He decided to let the literary heavy-lifters do the studying. He also brought up the phrase "too many cooks in the kitchen" to justify his actions. He opted to "hold down the fort" at the tent and bring them food when the times came. 

Harry chose to set up his research station down by the cove, where he and Hermione had shared their intimate moment. He had whatever reading material she did not require. 

With a very long parting kiss to both men, Hermione retreated to her beach chair near the water's edge, Draco had sent her off with a brilliant cup of tea. She set about reading all she could. Never had she been more grateful than now that she had brought her suitcase full of books. Not just for the sentimental reasons, she really missed her father, but because there were so many things they could find useful here. 

She had wondered about her wand, had it helped at all to bring forth her friend, whom she was calling Olivia, who was now floating through the air between taking swoops into the ocean? This was not like a typical Patronus. They should not have been able to cast them; Draco said he had never been able to produce one at all. She brought up the exact memories she had used. She thought again of her parents. She and her mother had planned a trip, a week-long journey through all of her father's favorite destinations inside of the Australian continent. Before his death last year, her father requested that his ashes be scattered in the places that meant the most to him. Since the trip was with her mother, she had been planning to camp the muggle way, which is why she had all the supplies in her bag that she would typically not carry with her. She had been stockpiling these things since they had booked their tickets 8 months ago. She smiled at the thought of her father and his attention to detail and knew that he would have been proud of her forethought. Several tears brimmed her eyes at her father's memory.

_ I wonder if my emotions play a role in the animal's manifestations? _ Hermione mused. If Happy memories bring forth a guardian, would sad memories drive them away? She hated the idea of possibly saying goodbye to the graceful little otter. Still, she knew that finding out was more important. It could mean their life if they didn't. 

She purposely brought his image forward in her mind, in the hospital room gaunt and sickly from the failed chemotherapy. She looked out at Olivia to see the effect the sad emotions would have on her, but she was nowhere to be seen. Then she felt the soft nudging on her shin, she looked down to see her sweet otter cocooning herself into the gap between her crossed legs, nestling in as if she was going to take a nap. She felt a breeze over her shoulder as she saw the fantastic snowy owl landing on the chair next to her. She was pretty confident that she would see if she turned her head; sure enough, there was Harry's stag lying on the sand a couple of feet away. 

_ Interesting, so sad thoughts and memories do not make them disappear. It's quite the opposite. They actually come and comfort. _

__ She allowed herself to cry the tears for her father that had threatened her anyways as the animals paid tribute with their presence. After giving herself an appropriate amount of time to grieve all the feelings and emotions, she thought of the memories she HAD used. There were some she did not remember ever having. Did this mean they were not real and only dreams? Or perhaps were they memories to come? Hermione had never bought into the idea of "Seeing with the inner eye" or any other garbage Trelawney spun out. Still, she would be remiss if she didn't admit she enjoyed the idea of those things coming true. 

She pulled her wand out of her hair, where she had used it to secure her messy bun. Deciding the next course of action would be to see if her wand had played a factor or not. 

"I'm just going to try something, sweet girl." she chucked the sleepy otter who had preened her head up, wondering what Hermione was playing at. She rubbed Olivia's head as she laid her head back down. Obviously not worried she would be needed, which should have been a sign that nothing would happen, but she tried anyway. 

_ "Wingardium Leviosa,"  _ she tried but felt nothing. Not even a tingling of magic, all three animals were paying her no mind at all, so she considered this good productive insight and put her wand back up in her hair.

_ So the magic did not necessarily come from me, then where did it come from?  _

She queried to herself. She had read before how there were situations where people could, in dire circumstances, draw power from someone else, to either produce or block a charm or a curse. Harry was actually the most famous of these situations. She opened her 'Hogwarts, a History: Millenium Edition' to Harry's early life. She read how Lily had cast sacrificial protection on her baby boy by choosing to sacrifice her life willingly for his. Because of that bond of Love, Harry had protection from Voldemort. Hermione was not sure that this would apply in this situation as no one had died. But it got her thinking about the different types of bonds. She spent the next hour reading about soul bonds, and interestingly enough, Hermione found something even she did not know that much about - A Trinity bond.

The text she read spoke about when three souls are bound together, their magic becomes one. The magic is amplified when there are two or more of them together. If there is no magic to draw from, magic will be created. Since they were on an island deactivated of magic, the bond would draw from their devotion to each other. The buzzing she was feeling earlier was most likely the magic manifesting. Hence why the lethifold had been alerted to their presence. It seems to activate most when they are intimate, and it even says the bond can be sealed.

Hermione's breath came out in pants as she digested all she had just read. So she, Harry, and Draco truly were destined to be together, ultimately. This proved it, a bond could not form if their souls were not already willing to submit to the other two. It was even proof when you looked at the patronuses. The beings that were created from nothing. They should not exist. But because of the love the casters had for each other, they were created straight from that bond. The bond was made even stronger that night because they had NOT brought forth everything inside of them just so that they would make it through the night, but so that they could make it through the night together. 

She was ecstatic to find this out, to finally have one up on this thing. She felt control coming back to her. She noticed this time, though, that the power was not an oppressive, ugly thing to her. She felt like they all three had control, and it was a marvelous feeling to not have to shoulder the burden alone. 

She smiled as she realized what each of them had done. They had sacrificed their "me" for the "we." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you once again to everyone who has read, commented, bookmarked, and/or Kudo'd. This has been so much fun to write. 
> 
> Also, a Huge, Huge, Huge thank you to my AMAZING Alpha, deviantgunner, and my bad-ass Beta, Tirzah. Ladies, this story would be shit without you!


	5. Never Have I Ever

Hermione felt restored. Finally, something was going right for them. They were part of something so much more than themselves right now. She laughed to herself as she remembered scoffing at Professor Trelawney and her "divination" hooey, but here she was, not just reading about bonds, but believing wholeheartedly that she was a part of one. 

All of a sudden, Hermione felt a shooting pain in her ankle. Checking for any wounds or signs that her ankle was broken or sprained, she found none. Unlike Harry, who had been the one with a sprained ankle. 

"Harry," she yelled, realizing that was what she must be feeling. She bolted out of her beach chair and ran towards the tent. All three animals were huddled around a dark-haired body lying on the ground." Harry, what happened? What did you do?" 

She was by his side, helping the injured man sit up. 

"I'm so stupid, 'Mione. I had taken my contacts out earlier to clean them and give my eyes a chance to breathe. I thought I could see better than I really can. Ughh, I tripped over one of the fucking logs. I think it's just re-sprained." 

By this time, Draco was running towards them at full speed. 

"What the fuck, man. Are you ok?" 

"Draco, I'm fine, I just, I don't know...I think I sprained my ankle again. By the way, how did you both know something happened. Draco, I thought you were in the showers?"

"I Was...until my foot started killing me. I knew something was wrong, call it a hunch. I nearly broke my own damn ankle, getting dressed to get back up here as quick as I could."

"Same here, I was just sitting there, and all a sudden, I had excruciating pain in my foot. But I knew I hadn't injured it at all. Here, let's get you in to lay down.", Hermione said as she started to assist the hurt man in getting up. Harry could not put any weight on it at all. He had really done a number on it. 

"Ah, Potter, what have you been eating, you weigh a ton," Draco exclaimed, not catching the blush encompassing Hermione's face and Harry's too for that matter. 

"Here, I don't think to lie down would be a good idea just yet. We need to prop it up. Draco, would you go get the beach chairs?

"On it, boss."

"Harry, I am sorry to say that I don't have any more potions. We used all I had on you the last time. I'm so sorry, all I have is some aspirin, at least that will take some of the swellings down.", Hermione was trying to rack her brain for other options as Draco came in with the beach chairs. They sat one up in the corner of the tent out of the way and helped the man sit down. They then set the other chair directly in front of that one to prop his leg upon. 

"Alright, and here are your contacts. Have you had them out long enough for them to be cleaned?" Draco handed him his contact case and his shower kit. "You need those in, so we don't have you falling arse-over-tit any more. It's bad enough having the dementor-like thing out there, somewhere trying to kill us. We don't need you doing the job for him, all because you can't see."

"Yeah, thanks. I feel like such an idiot. Like I have set us back some." Harry was putting his contacts back in as Hermione cautiously took his trainer off to look at his foot. The swelling and the discoloration was definitely a sign of a bad sprain, possibly even a break. 

"Have you always been this graceful? I knew you visited Madame Pomfrey a lot in school, but come off it, man." Draco finished his verbal scolding and started pacing the enclosed space. "So Im curious. Yesterday, I knew you and Hermione had shared something rather private there on the beach. And now, I am feeling your bloody broken ankle. Either of you figure anything out about…us? My book had quite a lot of insight on Targaryens and Direwolves, but not on how I can feel what happens to you guys." 

"Yeah, last night, I had gone out to find you guys cause I could feel… Um… Well, I could just tell you guys were together. I wasn't mad, though.", Harry quickly put out that last bit." I just wanted to find you both, too, I guess, warn you both about the accidental magic thing." 

"I may have the answer you are looking for," Hermione stated, so glad to have a teachable moment for the two men. She stood as though she were addressing a class and informed them about what she had read. From Lily Potter's sacrificial protection to the different types of bonds, including; The Trinity Bond. 

"So, in essence, it would make sense that we can feel what the others are feeling, whether it be a pleasure..." She had that delectable blush repainting her cheeks. "Or pain." She nodded her head towards Harry's now almost purple foot. 

"But didn't you say, we can create magic?" Draco remarked while watching her inquisitively.

"Yes, our little silver friends out there..." She pointed to the tree-line. Sure enough, all three were patrolling the area where the Lethifold must be waiting, just biding its time." are proof that we are all linked. If we are all united in one joint goal, we can create magic out of nothing." 

"So in essence, we could create healing magic for his foot," Draco said, the wheels in his head spinning with all the knowledge she had thrown at them for almost a half-hour straight. 

"Yes, even though the goal the last day has been to NOT practice magic. I think we might be ok to create more of the "accidental magic" as Harry had been calling it. Now that the guardians are proving to be permanent and doing such a tremendous job keeping the lethifold at bay." The blush appeared again three-fold as it dawned on Hermione exactly how they had been creating the accidental magic. Heat pooled in her center, and she felt her heartbeat accelerate. 

"So, if I came up and did this…" Draco stepped close behind her to touch her, planting a hand on her hips. She instinctively leaned back into his chest as his other hand pulled her wand out of its place, securing her hair, letting the wild curls tumble freely. He then swiped her hair to the side, exposing her neck to his lips, which were now trailing kisses to her ear. "This could potentially make Potter feel all better? " 

"In more ways than one," Harry spoke up from his seated position where he was adjusting himself at the stimulating sight in front of him. 

"Another experiment is in order, eh Potter. I fear this may be a look and learn for you only though mate." Draco was pulling the hem of her shirt up and over her head. 

"With this view, I will learn a lot." Harry was getting hard watching them both. It was just like what he had been envisioning yesterday. While he would love to be participating, the pain in his foot was bordering on unbearable. The seductive distraction was certainly welcome.

With his lips still on her neck, Draco brought his hands up to just under her bra covered breast. Hermione had just stood still, trying to gage Harry's comfort, not only physically, but emotionally as well. She could see the pure fascination in his eyes as he watched her being touched and kissed by the blonde man behind her. She could tell he was enjoying watching. Hermione was no prude. She knew there was excitement to be had in just watching. Knowing he was as comfortable as he could get considering his pain, she gave in to the feeling of Draco's hand and lips on her body. Her one hand found the back of his head, urging him to suck on the spots on her neck that were driving her mad with desire. With her other hand, she reached behind her to undo the button of his trousers. Draco met her action with a similar one. His hand, which had been unclasping her bra, was now tugging the soft material of her shorts down slowly. Hermione remembered how Harry had seemed to enjoy her mini strip tease yesterday. Hermione started shifting her hips in a motion that both men seemed to enjoy. Draco pushed the shorts all the way to her bare feet, allowing her to step out of the offending garment.

Starting at her shin, Draco worshiped her legs with his lips as Hermione took that time to remove her bra, which had been hanging loosely at her shoulders. Never had she ever felt so desired than now. One man was on his knees, kissing the backside of her thigh, and the other one had removed his shirt and was rubbing his hand over his still clothed erection. 

As Draco's kisses and gropes got higher, so did Hermione's excitement. He was laying open kisses to the globes of her arse and had reached around to the front of her knickers, which had purple polka dots everywhere. He hooked his fingers in and started to pull them down. There was a groan from Harry's seated position as he watched in amazement at the sight in front of him. As the unnaturally cool air hit her heated core, she choked on her breath, and her knees went weak. Draco caught her and pushed her down onto her knees while he flung the purple polka dots over to Harry. Once a seeker always a seeker, he snatched the fabric in his hands and brought it to his nose. Smelling her essence and feeling how they were moist. 

"Damn, that's hot," Draco muttered as he looked over to Harry. He had maneuvered his jeans down slightly and had his erection out and in his hand and was stroking softly. 

"She smells amazing Draco, how can you be so close and not want to taste her."

"Tell me what you want to see me do to her Harry while she watches you wank." Draco was feeling every exposed inch of her as she sat on her knees about 6 feet in front of Harry's throne. 

"I want you to bend her over and eat her pussy, stick your tongue in deep and use your finger on her clit." 

Hermione was so close to cumming as it was just from Draco's exploratory hands. But hearing Harry give him such an intimate order was a new sensation. Almost as unbelievable as Draco's tongue licking up her seam from behind. Not wasting any time in doing what he was told, he set to work sticking his tongue inside her soaking wet snatch.

"Oh, gods," Hermione screamed out. She looked up to Harry, delighting in the sight of him touching himself. He now had her knickers rubbing up over his dick as well. 

Draco used his finger to spread her moisture around and then introduced two of his fingers into her willing pussy. This elicited a scream from Hermione, and she put her own hand on her breast to rub where they ached to be touched. 

"Hermione, Look at me. I want to see your eyes as his finger fucks you hard and deep." 

Harry's forcefulness was such a turn on to her, apparently to Draco, as well. She could feel the vibration of his moan inside her, and it made her start to tremble. His fingers set a steady pace as his tongue took to licking every inch of her bent over form. Which about sent her over the edge. 

"Draco, I'm about to come." She yelled, not able to stand it any longer. 

"Hermione love, I want to see you come apart because of the naughty things Draco is doing to you. I want to see your face as you come all over his, let him drink you in Love. Come for us." 

She felt the release of her orgasm as it took over her, she stared at Harry, watching him get so much enjoyment from her satisfaction. 

"Take her Draco, make her yours," Harry commanded. 

Draco had never felt so turned on in his mother-fucking life. Draco was what some would call a switch, someone who could take direction as well as follow it. He liked this side of Harry. He could not figure out where he wanted to look the most. The sumptuousness of Hermione's nether lips or the sight of Harry with his impressive cock in his hands as he pumped rhythmically. 

"Love, get on your back so I can fuck you…" He helped Hermione move to her back, having taken his clothing off at some point, he wasn't even sure when. He took his cock in his hand and gave it a quick pump, not that he needed to, he was ready to feel her warmth around him. He put a finger to her clit and massaged her gently as he pushed inside her. 

"Draco, Yes… Ah, that feels so good." Hermione's screams were escalating. He set a steady pace of fucking her, not wanting to have it be over too quickly. That damn lethifold could come and suffocate him now, and he would die a happy man. She felt so good underneath him, just like he knew she would. The visuals that fought for his attention were overstimulating. Harry's head was back as he pumped his length to Draco's rhythm while pulling at his balls at the same time. 

"Potter, If you weren't so damn clumsy, I would have your cock in my mouth right now while I fuck our girl into the floor.' Draco knew this was a gamble. The words that tumbled out of his mouth could have very well scared Harry off. But he could tell the risk had paid off, Harry now was starting to pant heavily, and his pumping was getting quicker. 

"Would you like seeing that my little witch? Huh, Potter's big cock squirting cum all down my throat." He was pounding into her hard, and she looked to be enjoying every damn second of it. She was writhing underneath him, her hand kneading and pulling at her breast. 

"I want to feel you come around my cock as I come inside you. I'm gonna come any second now." Draco pushed her knees up in the air, allowing him to change position to make her lose herself at the same time as he put his thumb back to her clit. The sensation must be what sent her over the edge. 

"Draco…" She screamed his name, just as he had predicted she would as she stilled beneath him, the force of her orgasm overtaking them all.

As if they had rehearsed it, all three of their orgasm's compounded at the same time. Draco collapsed onto her as she reached her hand up to Harry's injured ankle at the same moment he shot his load all over his own chest. 

Draco continued to move slowly inside her. The sensation was the most exquisite feeling he had ever had like Christmas and birthdays rolled into one. He came down and took her lips in his in a searing kiss as she continued to touch Harry's Ankle. She nipped at him and kissed up the side of his neck, somehow he was still hard as steel. 

Harry's hand was still on his semi-flaccid cock. Paying it attention while trying to maintain his breath. 

Draco made love to Hermione then. She met his slow, steady thrust with her own. They continue this for about 4 minutes the whole time Hermione had her hand on Harry's foot and just caressed it. None of them had ever done any of this, they didn't even know what it was they were supposed to do. So they did what came naturally. They loved each other. She could feel the magic in the room. They knew it was probably sending the Lethifold into a frenzy. But she could still feel the invisible extension with her little Olivia outside and felt entirely protected from the threat. She pushed the healing spells she knew into her mind, and they extended out through her hand and onto Harry's ankle. It looked like Harry was barely conscious as he continued to pull lazily on himself to the beat of the pulsing buzzing throughout the room. Draco looked deep into her eyes as the spell they had all been under was slowly being lifted. 

"I love you, little witch," he whispered sweetly in her ear. This brought a huge smile to her face. She kissed him deeply. He wasn't expecting her to say it back, that's not why he had said it. He just wanted her to know, he wanted to give her that little token, and it felt amazing to him to get it out. 

He could not remember a time he had said it and meant it. He had told Pansy back in 5th year that he loved her, but that was not love; love shouldn't feel like that, like a pawn on a chessboard, just to be used to either get what one wants or to protect someone. He had had a couple of lovers in college, and it had been easy enough to give the words out like a charity. But now he wished he could go back and collect all the casual times he had thrown about the sentiment like it was loose change. He had told Astoria that he loved her, and he did. But it was not like what he had for Hermione and for Harry, and he would be telling the man when he wasn't snoring softly. 

He collapsed next to Hermione as her breathing started to regulate. He wondered if this dynamic would change once they were off this island. That thought had him pondering if he even wanted off this island. They had everything they needed; each other. 

Draco was someone who had grown up with everything he could ever want or need; money and power were at his disposal. With his various investments, his title as Heir to the Malfoy line, not to mention his salary as an employee at the ministry, money was not an issue to him. He would give it all away if it meant keeping these two and the monumental moments they were sharing. There were a few things he wouldn't say no too right now, a double caramel macchiato from Madam Puddifoot's tea shop sprang to mind. Still, all in all, he could go without any other earthly goods.

What would be so wrong with staying here? They could expand their little camp and even create a homestead here. Between his fishing skills, her knowledge, and Harry's skills at protection (when he wasn't busy injuring himself), they could make this work. With the assistance of their miraculous guardians out there, they would be all set. They could even get out and explore more of the island and see if there were perhaps better places to make a permanent home. After all, they would need to find a possible source of running water. That would be paramount to establishing a base. 

He would propose the idea to his lovers after they had rested up. Even now, Hermione was resting deeply in his embrace. Her curves molding comfortably to his body. He felt movement behind him on the floor. Harry had gotten up and laid himself behind Draco. Pulling them both close to him with a kiss to the back of his neck. They spooned like this for hours, letting the calm and serene existence embrace them all. 

___________________________________

Harry woke to the most glorious smells blanketing the enclosure. Living in central London, the way he had been made it hard to get his fill of fresh seafood, of which he was a huge fan. The smell of the fried fish with their spices made his stomach roar. 

He could hear Draco and Hermione's talking and laughing from outside in their dining area. Deciding to go join them, he put tentative pressure on his formerly swollen foot. To his immense satisfaction, it felt like nothing had even happened to it. Remarkably, they were able to bypass the island's wards and create magic from nothing. No, that wasn't nothing; that was something - that's for Damn sure. He had felt so connected to the two of them during their "healing," even though there were no physical interactions.

How had he never noticed their connections before? They had worked alongside each other for the last 4 years. Sure, they spent almost every waking hour with each other, but that was because of techmag. Was that the only reason? What would happen when they got back, would this continue on? Would their work consume them so much that this fell to the wayside? Would they want to keep this all together? From what Hermione had told them, this was meant to be. If Hermione started taking words out of Trelawney's dictionary, then it must be. 

Did he even want to go back? This forced Holiday was kind of lovely, they really had all they needed. Sure, he wished they had his comfy bed here, but besides that, did they really need much else? He considered this more as he changed his clothing and cleaned up some with the baby wipes Hermione had in her bag. How had she thought to bring all this? He knew she was usually on the over-prepared side of things, but this was beyond that. The tent, the portable shower, food, blankets, an air mattress for merlin's sake. All the items one would need when out in the middle of nowhere. She was brilliant. Did she know they were going to be stuck here for an unforeseen amount of time? How could one be THAT prepared? Harry was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of music and laughing outside. He heard the familiar sound of Destiny's Child coming from Draco's iPhone as he walked out to see Hermione and Draco dancing around to the song, 'Survivor.' As soon as they both saw Harry walking out to join them, Hermione danced over to him and ground her body up against him. 

"So, no broomstick crutch, I guess it worked then." She said with a promiscuous kiss that went along with her promiscuous dancing form. 

"Yes, although I won't complain if we need to try again." He danced alongside her as the music switched to the next song. 

The poppy sounds of Justin Beiber's' song, 'Baby,' came through the speakers. 

Draco rushed over to change the song abruptly, not wanting to let them see his song list included such drivel. Harry got to the phone first, though, grabbing it away before Draco could get to it. 

"You know, I can't help but think of the striking resemblance to the young singer." 

If Draco were able to feel embarrassment, he would have been flooded with something akin to it. "Come on, Potter, let's' have it back...:"

"Um, no… we want to see the stylish dance moves of Draco Beiber." Potter replied with a smirk. 

"Come on, Draco, let's see your moves." Hermione, the instigator, piped in. 

Not one to turn down a challenge. Draco got serious and struck a pose as Harry restarted the song. Draco then sang along, confidently but entirely off-key, to the fluffy pop song, complete with the legitimate dance moves. 

Hermione was next singing her version of 'She-wolf' by Shakira. 

Harry finished out their island concert series with a moody rendition of 'Bring me back to life' by Evanescence. 

After that, they ate terrific crab cakes and sat down around a campfire down by the beach to drink some of the last remaining Rum Hermione had stowed away. 

"So, I got thinking earlier, and since no one has come to rescue us yet. It is safe to say we need to start thinking a little more long term here."

He could see the subtle smiles on both Hermione and Harry's faces.  _ Hmm... I wonder if they also want to extend our time here. _

"I agree wholeheartedly," Hermione added exuberantly. Before her face dropped slightly as she said, "I do think though it would be a good idea to try to accio your wand again. Just to cover all the bases."

"Right, um… It would be the responsible thing to do." Harry threw in, though his voice showed signs of hesitation."So, the guardians are awake and alert, so um… Let's try to accio it all together." 

They all looked around at each other, never before had Draco wanted magic to fail him as much as he did now. 

They all unenthusiastically looked to the treacherous reef and muttered "Accio wand." 

Nothing. 

The relief was evident in each other. 

"You know, it could be that I left my wand in my office as we were rushing to get to the international portkey office. Or it fell out of my holster on the way there, of something stupid like that." Draco felt the need to justify why they should not attempt this last-ditch effort at a way off the island anymore. 

"Well, there you have it. We are stuck here." Harry tried in vain to hide his excitement at this new revelation. 

Hermione wasn't hiding shit. She was thrilled, excited, actually. She raised her glass in the air, "To Draco forgetting his wand."

"Here here..." Responded a happy Harry. 

"To my ability to leave behind one of the most important items a wizard could have and not being happier," Draco said with a raised glass, laughing at himself and the situation. 

They all drank down their cups as Draco started refilling them. 

"I think a drinking game is in order. You two ever played 'never have I ever'?" Seeing the subsequent head shaking from his drinking mates, he proceeded to explain the rules. "The first player says a simple statement about what they have never done by saying 'Never have I ever.' Anyone who, at some point in their life has done the action that the first player says, must drink. I'll go first. Never have I ever been kicked out of the library at school." 

Hermione uncomfortably brought her cup to her lips and drank. "Don't laugh, ok… Not my finest moment, but Madam Pince was quite mad when she found me attempting to smuggle some muggle classic literature into her library. I was placing them in random locations so that the non-muggle students could find how enrapturing the works of Dickens, Hemingway, and Austen truly are. She was not pleased with this and banned me from the library for a fortnight. Wait, why do I suddenly get the feeling you may have had something to do with the suspension?" 

Draco ducked his head as he replied, "Personally, I quite enjoyed reading about Mr. Darcy and his rogue charm. But it was Parkinson who nearly had kneazles when she found the book of muggle poems next to 'Pureblood Customs of the 17th Century'." 

"I'll go next… Never have I ever worn a speedo." Hermione queried, grateful she did not have to imbibe this round. 

Harry drank his drink, then looked at his two drinking companions, who were clearly wondering how he would look in the said speedo. 

Harry's turn, He turned to Hermione with a smirk on his face as Dread kicked in…  _ He wouldn't, would he?  _

"Never have I ever been discovered snogging someone in the Library." 

_ He did _ . 

Hermione tipped her head back to drink at the same time as Draco did. Aghast, Hermione laughed towards him. "You as well, who did you get caught with?" 

"Theo Nott in the stacks by none other than Professor McGonagal back in 5th year. What about you?" Draco said with a chuckle.

Hermione turning a bright red muttered "Theo Nott as well, when I went back to finish my NEWTS… Also caught by Professor McGonagal."

They all laughed as Harry stole Draco's turn to pose his comment, "Never have I ever snogged Theo Nott." 

Hermione and Draco both laughed as they tipped their cups back. 

Starting to feel a little squiffy from the drink, Draco stole his turn back and decided to take it up a notch. "Never have I ever gotten a sexual favor while in the Quidditch locker rooms." 

Hermione was safe, but Harry put his drink to his lips. At the same time, he tried to figure out how Draco could have possibly known about the time that Ginny had given him a sloppy blow job in the locker room showers. 

"You really had no idea about how the soon-to-be-Mrs. Potter had been bragging to everyone about your pre-marital exploits? She really was just an attention whore, I'm just glad you got out when you did. She really was no good for you." Draco had generally erred on the side of caution when talking about Harry's ex. But as this relationship was evolving, he felt the need to cement his view on the matter.

Harry merely shrugged and nodded. Agreeing he should have seen it sooner. The thought of her or her traitorous actions did not really seem to bother him. He now just wanted to think of the two amazing people by his sides. 

It was now Hermione's turn. "Ok, Never have I ever kissed someone of the same gender." 

Both men looked at each other, smiled, and took a drink. 

Back into the correct rotation, Harry took a stab at something he had been wondering about for a moment. "Never have I ever had anal sex." He had remembered Draco's confession earlier about how he and Harry were in the same boat. 

However, both men stared down at their glasses as they heard gulping from the little witch between them as she had finished her entire drink. 

"What "- was all the little minx could mutter out before both men tackled her down with kisses. 

Their guardians had their hands full that night as magic was indeed in the air. 


	6. Nicknames

The next 2 weeks held a collection of excitement at the encampment. Harry, Hermione, and Draco's bond continued to grow, and they all three realized they had no desire to go 'back to the real world.'

Long ago, Harry, as Head Auror, had implemented a cross-training program that had the various departments learn other departments' jobs. Knowing that things were being handled well in the absence helped ease some of their guilt at not wanting to leave the island. Techmag had already been implemented and thriving in Europe for the last 6 months, it was mainly the states and South America that still needed some training. The different sectors throughout Europe would be able to extend their knowledge of the process to those countries. 

Of course, they wondered how their friends and family had taken their disappearances. Were they out looking for them, did they assume the three of them had run off on purpose or worse, were they thought dead? Harry's theory was that the Ministry would feel like a dark wizard was behind their disappearance. They would be scouring the underbelly of the wizarding world, attempting to locate them, possibly even utilizing Techmag to its fullest potential in the process. 

Draco's rather odd idea was, what if they weren't even missing at all and were really in a second dimension. There was another trio of Harry, Draco, and Hermione in the other plane- oblivious still to his attraction to them both. Whether he genuinely thought this or was just taking the mickey out on them, they could not ascertain. 

Whatever was going on 'in the real world,' there was nothing they could do about it, and it was OK. 

By 'creating magic' in that particular way that only they knew how and their faithful guardians kept busy at keeping the Lethifold away in the process. They were able to add on to their homestead by transfiguring the most mundane items into the most extravagant. Their tent now resembled an actual magical tent in that it had 2 bedrooms. They all shared one bedroom and used the other as an office. Much to Draco's insistence, there was a chandelier as you walked in, and beautiful hardwood floors versus the nylon bottom that was there originally. Hermione accused him of just insisting on making things so they could create magic, to which he did not deny.

Their shower and loo, still outside and in its original place, now had proper walls. They added a simple laundry tub with an agitator and rope for hanging the clean clothes across. 

The food supply they had brought with them was starting to run a little thin, which just meant they had to get a bit more creative with food. The Patronus guardians, while they looked like full animals, only silver and wispy, did not need to eat to survive, but still enjoyed the thrill of a hunt. They would scare rodents and small game into little nets Harry had set up. With the fresh meat, almost endless supplies of fish, crabs, clams, as well as the fruits that were growing in the jungles, they were able to feast very well most nights. They had coconut water and were able to always have fresh water thanks to the rain catchment system. 

Injuries tended not to be a big deal as they were able to heal them by being intimate. The only real issue was that everyone felt what the injured person felt. Hermione got some mild enjoyment as Draco and Harry got to live through the torment of cramps and mood swings during the "5 days that won't be named" as the men referred to it. Though their discomfort was mild compared to what she usually went through, she thought it was hilarious that they carried on as if the world was ending. She wondered what it would be like if she, and by proxy, they went through childbirth. She had been on a monthly birth control potion for the last several years after her break up with Ronald. But you have to take those once every month. She had not thought to bring any extra as she was only planning on being gone for 5 days. She was just under the hope that her potion would still maintain some potency if she had to skip her monthly dose. Everything was just so unpredictable on this island and with their bond.

They had plenty of alone time as well as plenty of alone together time. Hermione and Harry were able to transfigure a fishing rod out of the former crutch (which had really been a former broomstick) for Draco as a gift for being the leading fish supplier. Which he found ridiculously loving and very useful. Harry and Draco were able to experience their first time truly together, just the two of them. In the process, they transfigured Hermione's small pile of tampons into a more substantial stash for her. Having experienced the pains of PMS, they would never mock that experience ever again. 

  
Knowing that they really needed to explore the entire island, which really was going to be the home for the foreseeable future, they decided to set out on an expedition. They packed some small rucksacks. Draco even conceded and let Hermione transfigure his precious Ludwig Vultrom bag into an all-weather backpack. Only because it meant he got the most fantastic blowjob in this process of transfiguring it. 

They closed up the homestead as best they could, not knowing exactly how long the trek would be, but their goal was to be back before Harry's birthday on July 31st. Hermione was looking forward to their little journey. As much as she loved these men and the small home that had been created, they were starting to get a little stir crazy being forced to stay in one place. 

Hermione had no idea until 2 weeks ago how much love she possessed. Not to mention how much she had been missing out on. She could not imagine a life without these two, her only regret was that her father would never get to meet them and see how happy they made her. It was Draco that helped her understand that somewhere out there in that vastness of the universe, her father was cheering them on, just like Harry's family and Astoria were. He suspiciously left out any mention of Lucius. However, they all knew he was turning over in his grave at Draco, shagging nightly not only a muggle-born but Harry Potter as well. It helped her, she was not sure where her beliefs lay in all that, but his optimism and his faith in it gave her a peace she didn't know she needed. 

The morning of their trek, the trio did not wake up wrapped in each other's arms like usual. Instead, Draco was awakened by a set of lips over his already hardened cook. Harry had come to realize he enjoyed giving head as much as receiving it. And at that moment, he was receiving it from Hermione while giving it to Draco. Not wanting to be the odd man out. Draco maneuvered himself under the petite brunette and without jostling her too much from her important worshiping of Potter's 'Benny and his Jets.' He adjusted her so that he was ravaging her with his tongue happily until they all were screaming each other's names. Energy buzzed as always through the now enlarged tent. 

"You just had to get your hands on my wand, didn't you Potter," Draco remarked with mock indignation as he got up to put on his dress slacks that had been transfigured to a pair of cargo hiking pants. 

"I told you, If I had my hands on your wand, there would be no question about it," Harry said with a meaningful kiss as he left to make sure the encampment was closed down properly.

"It was more like his lip's on your 'Wand.' And your 'Wand' has been in his hand, his mouth, his arse. My hand, my mouth…" 

"Yes, yes, we get it, little witch." Draco stopped her from finishing her thought with a deep kiss. She laughed as she also put on her hiking pants, hers did not need to be transfigured at all. She had almost every possible outfit in her bag, but both men had insisted they change the color.

"You know, I've always wondered... where did 'little witch' come from? You've called me that for years now." Hermione was dressed and ready to go in her camouflage colored hiking pants, hiking boots, and button-up tactical shirt with a tank top on underneath. 

"Well...um...yeah, so it's kind of difficult to talk about, but it is something you need to know, so here goes nothing. At the manor, and please know that that was one of the hardest hours of my life hearing her torture you the way she did." Draco had stopped lacing his boot to look her pointedly in the eyes as he spoke about one of the most horrifying days of all of their lives. She knew instantly what he meant at the mention of 'The Manor.'

"After my former house-elf apparated you away, Aunt Psycho went to calling you Little Bitch. She insisted no one call you by your given name, you were to only be referred to as Little Bitch. Of course, as you are well aware, I loved you even then, although I had no idea it was love. Anyways, there was no way I was ever going to call you that. Instead, I called you Little Witch. It was close enough that Psycho never caught on that I was not calling you by her designated name for you. I'm sorry if it reminds you too much of that time, but it kind of stuck." 

"Draco, I had no idea…" Hermione wrapped her arms around his waist, and he embraced her back. She loved these moments of brave vulnerability. "I will forever be your Little Witch then." 

"Promise," Draco whispered, barely loud enough for her to hear into her thick curls. 

"As much as I love seeing you two holding each other, and I do." Harry had come back into the tent at that moment. He hijacked the hug and kissed them both on the back of the head before adding, "We've got to get moving, we have no idea what we are in for on this mission."  
  
They each had a backpack, and Hermione had her little black bag that had been transfigured into a backpack (what did they NOT create magic on) and had several days worth of food and water. They each had a weapon with them, Draco and Harry each carried a handmade spear. Draco's was decorated with carvings of Dragons and the name Targaryen down the side. However, neither Harry nor Hermione understood what that meant. Harry's was pretty basic, and Hermione carried Harry's multi-tool that had been transfigured into a machete. Looking more and more like the Bad Ass Mother Fucker they both knew her to be, Hermione looked like a force to be reckoned with. Draco snapped a photo of them with his iPhone, which he had been doing a lot of lately. They had even video recorded some steamy moments they had all shared. 

With a parting look at their home, they set off with their guardians, who were more vibrant and exuberant than ever on a grand adventure. They passed some beautiful scenery, over steep mountainous terrain in a generally northern direction. Hermione used her 'Make today Awesome' journal to map out their journey, and Draco placed green fabric markers every mile or so to mark their trail. Harry would often scout out ahead, with his faithful stag whom he just called Hunter. 

The journey up over the mountain took them well into the evening where they set up camp. Not knowing the risk they would be facing throughout the night being in the middle of nowhere, even with the guardians patrolling and at one point rushing off as if chasing the lethifold. They kept their hands to themselves, not that Harry slept much anyway. His Auror instincts were elevated, being so exposed and vulnerable. 

The next morning they listened to some Destiny's Child "Survivor" and broke their fast on some jerky and dried fruit. They passed on the tea in exchange for good old fashioned H20 as they continued their trek over the mountain. 

They found a small stream and followed it around the bend where Harry caught sight of something that made him stagger slightly. In the clearing was a structure. A significant 2 story wholly made of the jungle, 'Swiss Family Robinson' style home. He saw several beautifully exotic birds flying around overhead as they cawed their greetings. Motioning to his hiking companions to "hold up," he dropped down behind a bush as they did as well. 

"Does it look to be inhabited?" Hermione whispered once close enough that her voice wouldn't carry. 

"I can't really tell, it looks like it may be. We have to be careful, the Caribbean is notorious as a Dark Wizard hide-out. We do need to get a little closer, though. If it is vacant, it could have some supplies we need." 

Harry looked around for the guardians. They were nowhere to be seen, but just like since the night they had miraculously conjured them, he could tell Hunter, Olivia, and Wiggy were close by. They could be keeping the Lethifold at bay or just scouting the terrain. They really were terrific familiars. 

He motioned them to stay down, but go quietly towards the impressive lodging. As they got a little closer but still hidden beneath the foliage, they saw a figure exit the building. 

Harry, Hermione, and Draco all froze at the sight before them.

"My Little Bella-poo, where are you? Your Dark Lord is ready for you to worship him." The sing-song voice was off-putting, but there was no mistaking Voldemort. Voldy-Moldy himself in the clearing, looking around for who knows what while dressed only in a long caftan looking robe and baggy harem pants. 

"What the fuck, Potter? I thought you had killed him…." Draco whispered, all the while rushing to undo the button on his cargos. 

"I thought I did, I mean... I did! What are you doing?" Harry hastily whispered back, as Draco was taking his cock out of his boxers and starting to pump aggressively. 

"We don't have the time for anything else, but im about to "create" a fucking shotgun. That fucker is going down. I just got you both, I'm not giving you up without a fight." Draco's poor flaccid cock was having a hard time getting, well...hard, as this was not necessarily the most amorous of moments. 

"Wait, Draco…" Hermione tried to still his pumping fist on his cock as she pointed out a second figure coming into the clearing. She squinted, and then her eyes opened round as saucers as she saw Bellatrix Lestrange walking into the clearing. Wearing a strange leopard skinned bikini with turtle shells around her ample breast. 

"Oh, my Dark Lord. I've been such a bad death eater. I let the blibbering humdinger loose even though he really didn't give us any reason to trap him in the first place." 

"Blibbering...?" Hermione whispered to herself, something was not adding up. 

Draco continued to masturbate in the most unlikely positions and situations. Harry muttering quietly to himself. "We are dead, we are officially in Muggle hell. That's gotta be it. We are dead. This is punishment for what I don't know, but we must be dead…"

"Silence, woman !" came the bellowing voice of Lord Voldemort into the clearing. "I have a blibbering humdinger for you to suck on. Now come and be a good girl and bow before your Dark Lord." 

"Oh, but my Lord." Bellatrix Lestrange was sprawled out on a patio table in an overtly (what some would say if it weren't Bellatrix) sexy kind of way. "That is too big to be a blibbering humdinger. They are small, only about as big as a magpie, and I would certainly not want to suck on one. It would tickle something fierce." 

Something wasn't right, no many things were not right. But Hermione could not put her finger on what was so odd about the situation. Draco, though, was finally getting a handle on things, and she had seen his face as he was about to orgasm many times in the last two weeks, and he was close. He had her machete in his other hand ready to transfigure the large knife into a more formidable weapon. Although, how he could focus on cumming with the bird noises up above, Harry's incoherent mutterings and the odd scene in front of them, she had no clue. 

"Come on, Lu, you're killing my boner here, you gotta stay in character Love…", came the Not-Voldemort voice out of the Clearly Voldemort figure. 

That's it!… Sudden understanding hit Hermione like a brick. 

Hermione stood from her spot. Both Draco and Harry attempted to stop her. 

"Luna, Luna Lovegood?" Hermione summoned all her strength and stood bravely. She knew the image yards from her was not her torturer. But she looked so much like her, it made her want to cry out. Draco was on his feet, the machete, not yet transfigured to a gun, his proud penis still out and primed. 

"You Psycho Bitch! I don't know how you are here, but I watched you torture the woman and the man I love, and I will not stand for it again, you will have to kill me first before you touch them." Draco was starting to advance towards a calm looking Bellatrix. 

"Hermione Granger! It does my heart so good to see you. And to hear that you and Harry both have such grand proclamations of Love from Draco Malfoy. That is truly exciting. Rolf, would you please get some tea started for us. Do you need a few moments to finish your ejaculation Draco?"

"What… Bella, Don't… What...The.."

"Fuck…" Harry had just joined the conversation, still unsure as to what is going on." Luna? Hermione, Did you say Luna?" 

Bella-Luna had made her way over to them, and the two men got into a crouched position like they were ready to fight as the two women embraced each other. While Voldemort/Rolf was coming over with a massive smile on his no-nosed face. 

"How is this possible, Luna? Where are we, even?" Bella-Luna was leading Hermione with her arm around her waist over to the small outside table set up outside the beautiful home. 

"Our Honeymoon. Don't you remember us telling you we would be spending 5 months researching...."

"Tropical beasts. It's all coming back to me." Hermione shook her head, feeling so stupid for forgetting that bit of information from their wedding, not 2 months previous. 

"Won't you join us? I apologize for the appearance." Volde-Rolf Scamander had his arm extended out to usher two completely flummoxed men over to the sitting area." You ahh… You caught us in the middle of our little role-playing fun. We honestly can say we were not expecting visitors."

"Rolf makes such a Wonderful Dark Lord, he makes being a submissive so much fun." Bella-Luna was staring at her husband adoringly as he pulled 3 additional chairs to the outdoor table." You should see when he polyjuices as Fenrir Greyback. His werewolf interpretation is even more impressive than his dark lord."

"Oh, Lu, you're gonna make me blush." The idea of seeing Voldemort blush had the two shocked men's minds completely blown.

"Wait, You're telling me…" Harry started. 

"That you fucking whackjobs, get off on polyjuicing as Voldemort and Bellatrix LeStrange...My Dead Fucking Aunt." Draco finished for him. 

"Draco, really…" Hermione scolded as she put her hand on his leg to help calm him down. 

"Lots of people do it, actually." Volde-Rolf piped in seemingly unoffended at his choice in words." Weasley Wizarding Wheezes carries an entire Death Eater Polyjuice Line, having found a cache of Tom Riddle's hair after his death. Draco, just be glad we hadn't taken the Lucius potion today."

"Salazar, I'm gonna be sick." Draco stood and walked off to the side, obviously needing a moment. 

"Luna, I'm sorry… We really are. We obviously did not mean to interrupt such an intimate time for you." 

"No Worries. It has been over 2 months since the wedding, and since we have seen another person, so the interruption is quite welcome." Bella- Luna passed out the cups and saucers and poured the tea from the kettle. "We can continue our role-playing at a later time, isn't that right, my dark lord… I mean, Rolf. Sorry, I really do enjoy him as Voldemort. Sugar?"

The juxtaposition was almost nauseating. To have Bellatrix Lestrange and Voldemort pouring tea in the middle of a verifiable garden of Eden. Hermione was starting to question if maybe Harry was correct, and they were all dead. 

"In fact," Bella-Luna was continuing her previous conversation." My Da was supposed to come out and join us about 2 weeks ago, but he never showed up." 

"Wait, Luna. Did you just say Xenophilias was supposed to join you here about 2 weeks ago?" Harry jumped into the conversation after having gone to check on Draco. 

"Yes, he had planned to portkey here. But something more important must have come up as we have not seen him at all." 

"Uh, Luna, I think I know where your father is…" Sudden dawning and understanding hit Hermione like a second brick. "I think we may have taken his portkey by mistake..." Hermione said, wondering if it really could be that simple. 

There was a sudden laugh from Volde-Rolf, which was just strange to see Voldemort laughing so carefree like. "So, If you took his portkey by accident. Then he must have taken yours. This also means wherever you were meant to end up will never be the same as I can almost guarantee the old man has gotten himself into loads of trouble. Where were you supposed to be, anyway?"

"Florida…" Draco added in stonily. "Be honest, what are the chances he would have told the Ministry about the switch up?" Draco was looking back and forth between Hermione and Harry. 

"Draco. If I know Luna's father, and I like to think I do. If he took the wrong portkey by mistake and landed in Florida, he is more likely to be on an alligator farm than reporting anything to the Ministry." 

"Daddy does tend to follow no one's rules but his own. I truly am sorry if that puts you three in a dreadful situation. Scones anyone?" 

"Any more of the spotted dick, Love?" Volde-Rolf asked as he sat cross-legged on his chair. On his feet were the most ridiculous pair of black plastic clog looking shoes with holes all through them. 

"Coming right up, my dark lord." Luna was off and into the beautiful home. 

"So where are you guys staying and um, I have to ask, how have you been getting on without magic?" 

The three of them told Volde-Rolf and Bella-Luna when she returned with the spongy cake all about their encampment and their adventures the first three nights. The meeting and defeating of the Lethifold and Hermione told them sparingly of the Trinity Bond. By the time they had got through most all the information, and Draco explained precisely why he had been attempting to masturbate. Their polyjuiced forms started to morph back into their usual selves. 

"Oh, thank Merlin…" Harry said, with genuine exuberance. "That was almost harder than seeing you polyjuiced as Bellatrix, Hermione." 

"I have so many questions in regards to that comment Loves," Draco addressed that to Hermione and Harry, but then turned to Rolf and Luna, who thankfully was back to Rolf and Luna. "But first, we told you all about us, we need to know where the hell we are and what the hell is this island… and why the hell is my iPhone still at 87% battery level?" 

Rolf got himself comfortable to tell a tale." You three are on the Lethifold Research Island just outside of the Bermuda Triangle. My Grandfather, the late Newt Scamander, established this island back in the 1990s as a place to observe the Lethifold. He had been hearing reports of tours bringing people here, and around that time, there were around 6-7 lethifolds, whereas now there is only 1, maybe 2, but we have no proof of that. As you three figured out, they are attracted by magic, well when the wizards ran these tours they would inadvertently use magic, and it would attract the creatures. Shortly after the 3rd muggle death, something had to be done. The Ministry called in my Grandfather to study them and see what he could do before they took action and hunted the beast, which was not going to happen on his watch." 

"So, there is someone who actually was trying to protect this dementor-like thing?" Draco was trying to piece this all together. 

"The Lethifold is actually very different from the Dementor. Just similar in looks and their sensitivities to the Patronus'." Rolf, one of the top Magizoologist in the world, was entirely at home in describing magical beasts." The lethifold is actually considered a beast vs. The Dementor being a creature with arguable rights amongst some. The beast targets its victim, similar to how a bat uses echolocation to find its food source. It has no hearing, no sight, no voice, just an instinct to feed on magic. Now the beast suffocates its victim, and that is how it feeds. However, our research shows, it does not NEED to feed to survive, It will just eventually die of old age. But if it senses magic, it will attack. The only thing grandfather could do to protect the lethifold was to make the island a sanctuary and permanently deactivate magic on the island. Without magic, man and beast can co-exist."

"It's too bad you had changed back already, It would have been great to hear you as Voldemort say that.", Harry said with a huge grin, authentically intrigued by what he was hearing. 

Rolf laughed as well before he finished his spiel. "So Grandfather set to work on building this amazing piece of architecture here the muggle way, and he and Grandma Tina would even come out and Holiday here for a while. Knowing Lenny, as they called the remaining lethifold, was here, but would not bother them. After this was built and established as the Research of Lethifold Facility or ROLF for short, and yes, trust me, I see what he did with the name, Newt had a wry sense of humor."

"That reminds me of SPEW," Draco remarked everyone surprised he had actually been paying attention. 

Hermione gave him a vicious side-eyes as she replied. "It was not SPEW, it was S.P.E.W. Now Rolf, how is it that he was able to deactivate the island? Something of that scale had to have been Ministry backed, right?

"The Ministry knew that should these wizards continue to bring muggles on these tours and put their lives at risk, there was always a risk of it essentially becoming a stowaway. They breed asexually after consuming large quantities of magic. If it were to say, hop a boat to a magical community, it could consume the magical community, all the while creating more of itself in the process. Newt received a full blessing from the Department of Control of Magical Creatures. The island is basically covered with one big-ass Charm over the whole thing. He figured the only people crazy enough to step foot on this island would be here to research the beast and would, therefore, know what they were getting into. I hate that you guys got pushed into it blindly, though. As it is, it sounds like you lot have seen the lethifold more than we have the entire 2 months we have been here." 

"The polyjuice doesn't attract him? And Hermione's bag with the undetectable extension charm. And what about our tech working just fine?" Draco added. 

"Well, the potions and some magical objects will work for the most part. Newt's case had a similar charm placed on it, and he would have had it here on the island. It would make sense that he would make sure that it would not be affected. And as far as the tech working, you actually have me stumped on that. Unless, well, grandpa had a weakness for music well, a weakness for music and grandma. It wouldn't surprise me if he added a charm to the island before its deactivation that would allow battery levels on all technology to maintain. Just so that he could listen to a muggle radio." 

"So there is a radio on the island then, like a walkie talkie radio?", Draco said quickly, dread starting to wash over him. 

"Eager to get off the island, eh, No, I am sorry to say not a walkie talkie. It would have been a muggle disk man he would have had here. We have no direct contact with the outside world, whether it is muggle or magical." 

Rolf had misinterpreted Draco's eagerness, But Luna had picked up on his oversight.   
  
"Silly Rolf, I don't think Draco was inquiring if we had one so that he COULD get off the island." The trio looked sheepishly between themselves." I think he is trying to guarantee a way for them to stay here. Well, I have excellent news for you, Mr. Malfoy. Our portkey is not set to activate again until October 16th."

Relief washed over the three of them, Draco let out the breath he didn't even know he had been holding. They laughed about Luna's intuitiveness as Luna invited them to stay the night in one of the guest rooms the beautiful facility had. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh, This has been so much fun to write. I hope it has been just as enjoyable for you to read. Thank you to everyone who has read, commented, bookmarked and Kudo'd!
> 
> It actually went a little longer than I had originally planned, there are 9 chapters plus an epilogue. The next one though, chapter 7 is just a short little bonus. 
> 
> Thanks again to the superhero's deviantgunner and Tirzah !!!


	7. Letter's from Florida

My Dearest Luna, 

I must apologize; I have gotten lost, but in the process have found myself. 

Would you have ever imagined that the State of Florida in the US is the orange capital of the world? Isn't that splendid, an entire state dedicated to a color.

I was most surprised when my portkey deposited me into an alleyway instead of into the water off the coast of the island where you had said it would. 

I have had such a wonderful time, my sweet girl. My traveling has taken me on many adventures. For instance, I met a mouse who has his own house. Can you believe it! I had tea with him inside of his castle, although it was nothing like Hogwarts. 

I found the most magnificent animal reserve that you and your Rolf must come and explore when you have some time. It is called the Animal Kingdom. Although you will need to brush up on your notice-me-not charms, as several young adults in uniforms were quite upset when I attempted to run with the cheetahs. One dared to call the muggle authorities on me when I was measuring the tusks of one of the distant relatives of the erumpent, the nerve.

However, I am pleased to say that I am welcome back at any time. The muggle officers took my photo and an imprint of my fingers. They placed my pictures in their offices with a note saying 'look out for this man.' They will greet us properly when I return with you and Rolf. 

After my adventures in Kiss-Me, such a magical name for a place, they required my knowledge and asked me to do a two-month teaching class called probation at a Large Cat Sanctuary in the Bay of Tampa. These animals are truly extraordinary, and the muggles that work with them are not too bad. The headmistress has the tendency to be a little fragmentary, and I am a bit concerned that she smells of Sardine Oil, but she does call me her Cool Cat, so I think we will have a most excellent friendship.

My dear Luna, once again I hope you are not too upset with me, I will contact the Ministry in about 2 months (when they no longer need me to do the probationary teaching) to inform them of the mistake with the portkey. 

I Love you, my sweet Luna, and wish I could be there to help with Lenny. Send my Love to Rolf. 

Xenophilius Lovegood AKA Da 


	8. Animal Instincts

Oh, how Hermione had missed soaking in an actual tub. Knowing where you were going and how long you would be gone for definitely had its perks. Rolf and Luna were able to bring what they needed in mass quantities. Not to mention the cache of non-perishable items Newt had left for any researchers that may come by to the facility. Hermione, Harry, and Draco were relaxed and carefree after staying two nights at the Lethifold Research compound. They enjoyed some staples from home that were well stocked there- like bubble baths, fresh razors for all, and card games. 

The feast they had the night before they left to head back to their side of the island was nothing if not grand. Everyone pitched in their favorite recipes. Even though there was a lot of improvising that had to be done, there was fun had by all. 

Draco, Harry, and Hermione were able to provide Rolf and Luna with vital information about the lethifold. After all, they had been the only ones to have interactions with the mysterious and dangerous beast since Newt had first put the barrier in place so long ago. It was a relief to know that all the anxiety and fear they had been feeling the last 2 weeks would help other Magizoologists in their research when they got back.

Although, having a date that they would be "going home," looming over their shoulders was not as much of a relief as it should have been. On the one hand, it would be great to get back into a routine with work and with friendships. But all three would be lying if they weren't nervous about how their relationship would be seen. Triads or Trios were not unheard of in the wizarding world. Still, they were not necessarily all that common either. Because their magic was amplified through their bond, Trios had been sought after during the first and second wizarding wars by Voldemort and other Dark wizards. Would these three have an even higher target on their back when it became known the nature of their relationship?

There was already talk about Hermione and Draco moving into Harry's home at 12 Grimmauld Place when things got back to normal. Nobody had any issues with the upcoming move. Draco had various pieces of investment properties; his brownstone in NYC, Malfoy Manor, which is where his mother still lived, and his London flat. He was more than happy to sublet his unit in London as soon as they got back. He also had a holiday villa in France. Hermione was perfectly fine, letting her little cottage be rented out until she ultimately sold it. Hermione thought it fascinating though, her mind kept telling her that out of all those properties they talked about, she wished they could stay in this 2 bedroom tent the most. 

Tomorrow was Harry's big 3-0 birthday. Luna had been kind enough to send with them a package of Little Debbie cupcakes, which were his favorites. They had found an old banner lying around that initially said, "Welcome Back Newt,' and she and Luna had painted "Happy birthday, Harry.' overtop it. They spent all day working on their compound. Having seen how impressive the Scamander's side of the island was, they had a lot of work to do to get theirs to that level. They had set about doing their chores as well as re-opening the camp. Rolf had been charitable enough to send them with some additional supplies, and of course, what they didn't have, they had fun transfiguring. 

The morning of Harry's Birthday, she remembered Harry's luggage and how what seemed like so long ago she had come across his speedo. Funny how whenever they went for a swim in the ocean, he would be in just proper shorts, or as was most the time, he would end up in absolutely nothing. She had wanted to see him and his cut fit body in his speedo. She decided to play a little joke on him to get her way. She took his invisibility cloak out of their small closet area. She placed all the men's clothing under it, making all but his speedo available-no fair if he borrowed Draco's. She grinned at her cleverness as Draco came in wearing just a towel to their room, having finished his shower with Harry. Kissing her on the head as she closed the closet, he asked. "What are you so enthusiastic about?"

"Oh nothing,' She responded with a swat on his backside. 

Draco looked suspiciously from her to the closed closet as he peeked inside. There were her items hanging up so neatly. All of his and Harry's clothing, though, were missing. He checked their three drawers; the first drawer, his drawer, was empty. The second drawer, Hermiones, was full of her knickers and bras. The third drawer, Harry's, just had the one Speedo in it. 

_ That little witch! _ He thought. She was trying to trick Harry into having to wear the speedo all day. He personally enjoyed seeing Harry completely starkers. Because he did not want to be the one in absolutely nothing, he put the snug speedo on, admiring the way it made him feel.  _ Ok, I get it now _ . This is going on the transfiguration list immediately. Potter would just have to walk around in his birthday suit until he had one of his own. It was a win-win in his book. Draco walked into their bedroom to finish the present he had for Harry. Draco had been collecting pictures on his iPhone of them and had made a collage for Harry. With limited resources, he had to work with what he had. 

Not 5 minutes later, Harry came back up to the tent after his morning shower, feeling restored and relaxed, thanks to Draco. He was able to greet his 30th year of life with a thorough massage from a hot blonde. Harry could not have been more pleased that the blonde's name was NOT Inga. 

Hermione had left for her morning routine before he had even woken up, and he was looking forward to seeing her. He loved seeing her. Hell, he loved her and Draco both and was not shy about saying it. For too long, love had wronged him and taken advantage of him. But this time, he was not going to let true love pass him by. He was swimming in it thoroughly.

He entered their office, which also held their small closet so he could change. There was a large banner saying 'Happy Birthday Harry' hung on the tent wall. It was the little things they did that truly made him happy. 

Opening his drawer to get dressed for the day, he saw nothing. He opened Draco's drawer to borrow some of his pants. Nothing. So he had 2 options. There were Hermione's lacy knickers, which given his girth, he didn't think we're going to fit or his birthday suit.  _ Well, I'll be damned _ , he chuckled at the irony. He walked proudly naked into their bedroom to thank them for the banner. 

Harry was greeted by an added birthday surprise. 

He would never tire of seeing the lines and cords of Draco's muscular back as he stood facing away from the entrance. It only helped that his magnificent arse was encased in Harry's speedo. Yep, there was no doubt about it now, Harry was definitely an ass-man. Draco's firm glutes filled out the small confines of the controversial, but oh, so comfortable fabric. Hermione hands moved up and down his back, her nails slightly biting his flesh, which made Draco's head lean back. Harry felt his cock come alive at the sight of them together. He never got offended when they "started" without him, and vice versa. He enjoyed joining them where they were at. 

As Hermione's hands started tugging at the tight fabric, he stepped up behind him to aid her in the process. Distributing soft kisses beginning at the back of his neck and on down his spine, Harry helped Hermione pull the speedo over Draco's shapely arse. Not surprised at all to feel the new set of hands, Draco touched back to acknowledge the birthday boy's presence. Harry used his position to push them both towards the bed, his stiff cock pressed to the cleft of Draco's ass. 

The backs of Hermione's shins hit the edge of the bed, causing her to fall back. She looked up to see her men in a seductive open mouth kiss. She loved to see them partake of each other the way they did. She touched over the top her knickers as Draco had quickly disposed her of her sleep shorts when he came in. Moisture was already collecting at her fingertips. Her little joke was lost on her as soon as Draco has walked in wearing the skimpy swimming costume. He posed and modeled as she commented that it needed to be added to the transfiguration list immediately, so both men would have a pair. Draco agreed, by kissing her hungrily. Which landed them here.

Draco's mouth was between her open legs now, sucking at her finger as he pulled her knickers off her body. She heaved a sigh as she felt Harry come up to her side and take her nipple between his lips, sucking lightly. She reached down to pump his now full cock. Draco rubbed his tongue up and down her swollen slit before he pushed his finger inside her making her cry out and pump Harry's swollenness with more intensity. His lips and hands were occupying her breast and worshipping them completely. She felt herself nearing a peak, but she needed something distinctive this time. This time was different from all the others. 

"I need you both at the same time." She moaned, nearing what would be just the first of what she knew would be many orgasms. 

Harry's eyes were rolling back in his head as he had stood up to position himself at her mouth. She frantically wrapped her lips around his thick length while massaging his firm arse simultaneously. 

Draco knew what she needed, and would be lying if he didn't need the same thing-For her and Harry to be inside her at the same time. As she was getting closer and closer to her first of many peaks, he grabbed for the lubricant they had transfigured from coconut oil to use to help ready her for him. He probed one wet finger in her snug puckered hole while tonguing her pussy while his other finger circled and worked her clit. Hermione moaned around Harry's cock as she came- Her fluids tasted so sweet on Draco's tongue. He stretched her carefully as she came down from her highest high. As soon as he removed his finger from her tight opening, she pushed Harry down on the bed and mounted him while Draco lubed himself up.

Of all the things they had done together on this island, this would be new territory for them. Hermione sank down on Harry's shaft and leaned forward to kiss him lovingly. Draco kneeled down and aligned himself with the cleft of her arse. Harry started to slowly thrust up inside her, which just the sight of was enough to send Draco's senses off-balance. He entered her slowly, knowing this particular area was sensitive but could also feel oh, so good as long as it was done right. Her body consumed him, fully embraced him. He could feel Harry through the delicate walls of her insides. She and Harry kissed with emotion, easing any anxiety she may have about the moment. 

Draco slowly began his pendulum rhythm, and Harry met his thrusts. His hands were on her hips, and Draco reached down to hold on to Harry's. They made love like this for what felt like hours but may have only been a little over 5 minutes as the passions and sensations were so strong at that moment. The energy, like always, was oscillating through the room. Hermione felt feelings she never thought she could have. As she rode Harry and Draco rode her, she advanced to a cloud so high, colors danced everywhere in the room. 

She was nearing something so fantastic, she had no definition for it. This was more than just an orgasm, this was a culmination of their bond. She was fully aware of it at that moment. She was floating through colors, she was flitting around scenes of life not yet happened as they flowed through her mind. The same visions and some new ones she saw as she cast her life-saving Patronus. Harry and Draco's hands held her steady; otherwise, she felt she would drown at the moment. She cried out as she felt the colors wash over her like a tidal wave. 

Harry could feel Draco as he made love to Hermione; it was the most indefinable feeling. He had never felt so close to them, he wanted this all the time, and any chance he could. Harry closed his eyes as their bond strung over and around the three of them, not even realizing fully what all would be involved. Still, not ready for any life that did not have them in it. He cried out as he felt her clench down on him, and she cried out her release. As he felt his life juice leave his body and plant inside her, he felt like he was running and free. As he had rushed forward at breakneck speeds through what had looked like an impermeable wall, He finally grasped pure joy and ecstasy that was on the other side. 

Draco felt himself soaring, almost as if he were going far away from them both, but yet he had never felt closer. Each stroke was bringing him higher. The feel of him, the feel of her, the feel of them, separate, but together. He was gliding so high, the air was tight. His lungs hurt as he grunted to gain breath as he pumped inside of her. The way both men moved inside her had their own body's grazing each other, which only elevated him even more. With each plunging stroke, he saw a scene of their life altogether. He broke through the atmosphere with a throaty cry and the word "together" on his tongue.

The colors, sound, and energy humming through the room as Draco, Hermione, and Harry unknowingly sealed their bond, which was evident all throughout the archipelago. The other side of the island even had Luna and Rolf wondering about the seismic activity of the ocean floor as they were drinking their afternoon tea and reading. 

There was no coming down like one would a regular orgasm, there was nothing conventional about this. As the three lovers lay on top of each other, gasping for breath, riding out the most powerful thing to ever happen to them. Draco broke the tension with the phrase, "How do we ever follow up from that?" 

They all smiled together as Harry and Draco slowly eased out of Hermione's body. They held each other tightly-as if there was not an invisible cord, keeping them all together. Caresses and kisses and loving rubs on sore areas were all that followed before sleep defeated them all. With Hermione uttering a soft. "Happy birthday, Harry," into the atmosphere. 

Before sleep had overtaken them, they were all distinctly aware that a bond had been set. Being that they were three ridiculously intelligent people, they knew precisely what that would indicate once back in Wizarding Britain. However, in the wizarding world, the evidence of their bond could be seen, if only one was paying attention. For instance, if the goblins at Gringotts had been looking through the books at that moment, they would have noticed the additional names added to the Malfoy, Potter, and Granger Vaults. If there had been an auror standing by Harry's office door. They would have seen his nameplate change from Head Auror Potter to that of Head Auror Malfoy- Potter. 

But there was someone paying attention. His desire to keep the drawing-room clean and tidy in preparation for his master's imminent return had Kreature in the room at just the right moment to see the Black Family tapestry change. He smiled his broad Kreacher smile and apparated quickly to the other living Black family member, Narcissa Malfoy. He needed to extend his congratulations on her son's marriage to his own master and his master's best friend. Of course, he also wanted to extend his congratulations on the small blank offshoot that accompanied the new names. 

_______________________________________

Hermione hated mornings, absolutely detested them. Of course, it didn't help when she was waking up feeling like absolute hell.  _ Ughh, why did her husbands insist on cooking up fish for breakfast?  _ They were supposed to be heading over to Rolf and Luna's side of the island today, as was their weekly tradition to meet up on alternating sides for food, fun, and games.

But right now, she didn't even want to get out of bed. 

Several weeks had passed since Harry's birthday celebration, and the day they had sealed their Trinity bond. They all three knew what that had meant as soon as it had been done- and they could not be happier. She was now married in the eyes of the Wizarding World to her two best friends, the men she would do anything for. That wasn't the only thing they realized after that incredible morning. Hermione was shocked when she determined her little otter, and she shared a bond together as well. 

When she woke up from resting that birthday morning, there was an overpowering urge to go swimming. That in itself was not that unusual, but as she dove through the water, she felt something inside of her changing. Hermione had become an otter- her otter, Olivia. She was an animagus. 

After showing her new animal form to Harry and Draco, they then just had to test out her theory that they would all be able to transform. Draco spread his arms wide and went running down the beach as he took off into flight. Soaring up and through the air. Feeling like he was back on the quidditch pitch, but yet oh so different - this time, he had feathers. 

Harry was able to quickly transform into Hunter. However, it was very emotionally encumbering for him knowing his father had not only also been an animagus, but the same form. Taking their time, during the week leading up to Rolf and Luna's first visit, they explored their new abilities as animagi. 

Their Patronus' continued to stay around when they were in human form. Yet, as soon as they entered their animal forms, the guardians disappeared. After Rolf's assessment and a lot of note-taking and interviewing them all, his conclusion was that they were their own Patronus and had been this whole time. Because of their bond, they were able to produce not only Corporeal Patronus' but a relatively unheard of form of magic, called an Elemental Patronus. 

On this particular day, they were going to be taking their animagus forms to the other side of the island. They had only one recent interaction with the lethifold. Harry had seen it one day as he was in his stag form, and it definitely was curious of him but way too hesitant to approach. Rolf was ecstatic with the abundance of new information they were able to bring forth in such a relatively short amount of time on the island. 

Hermione finally felt the energy to get up and out of bed as she outfitted her self for the day. She would have to ask Luna if she had any type of medicine to help with heartburn and upset stomach, maybe even some more of the Little Debbie snack cakes. 

As they set off on their trek across the island, they knew this trip would go a lot faster. Hermione rode on Harry's back as her stubby legs would not be able to keep up, which was fine by her as she just didn't feel good at all. Draco took to the air. They made the regularly 6-hour trip in only under 2 hours. As soon as they got to the luxurious abode, they transformed back, which could not have come soon enough for Hermione. She laid down in the outdoor hammock and took a small kip, while the men went off to help fix a part of the roof that was damaged in a storm the week before. Luna came over and woke her a while later for tea. Hermione apologized for the rudeness of her snoozing. 

"Oh, don't be silly, Hermione. I can't imagine the strain your body is going through as you go from human to animal. I am quite jealous, actually. But you must listen to your body; if it is telling you to rest, you must rest. I know I am resting more, as that is what the fetus and my body are telling me to do. Two sugars, correct?" Luna mentioned in the random way that she does. 

"Wait, fetus? Luna, are you pregnant?" Hermione reached over to embrace her zany friend. "That is amazing. When did you find out?" 

"We'll I could not be completely sure until just last week, because we do not have a test nor any dabberblimps- they tend to swarm around expectant mothers, you know. But, Rolf and I certainly have had intercourse enough. We knew it was just a matter of time before we conceived." Luna casually rubbed her slightly enlarged tummy over her cheetah print dress." I am starting to feel movements every so often, and I am about 3 months late on my monthly cycle. Besides, I think a mother just knows, don't you think?" 

"Yes, I suppose so. I had never really thought about it. When I was with Ronald, I had just come around to the idea of starting a family when he decided his career was always going to come first. I had only just gotten off of my potions, so I think I got lucky to not conceive right away." Hermione thought of something quickly. Luna had given her some of her extra potions the first time they were here, one of which was a birth control potion for her to take when her period came around next. "Luna, you knew then, didn't you, when we were here the first time! That's why you gave me the potions, isn't it?"

"Yes, I had an inkling. I knew I wouldn't need it, but we didn't want to talk about it as we were not sure. Besides, there is a lot that can go wrong in the first trimester." She drank more of her tea before she changed the subject somewhat. "Now that you have started the potion, are there any adverse side effects to taking a different potion, or one by a different potion master?" 

"Oh, I haven't started it yet, I've got to wait for my period?", Hermione explained while she helped herself to the sleeve of biscuits Luna had been munching on. She then stopped to look at Luna, who seemed to be doing some calculations in her head.

"Hermione Malfoy-Potter, why do I feel like congratulations may be in order for you as well? 

"What do you mean Luna, you just gave the potion to me 2 weeks ago, right?" 

"There is a certain phrase out there floating around - 'babies kill brain cells,' not that you don't have plenty more to spare, but I gave you that potion almost 4 weeks ago now.", Luna chuckled at her ordinarily ingenious, but slightly addled friend. 

"Luna, no… That can't be right." Hermione's head was spinning; she felt like she was going to be sick. "Oh, no, I'm going to be sick.", she said out loud as perception clicked with her. She HAD been feeling ill for a couple of days now. 

Luna had walked inside at some point during Hermione's mini-Breakdown. When she had come back out, she had a tray of the Little Debbie cupcakes and a second teabag. 

"I feel like this may help. Professor Lupin used to always say, 'Eat some Chocolate, you'll feel better,' and this is ginger tea. It has been helping me with my morning sickness, and I feel like It will help you with yours."

Just that comment alone, hearing the word morning sickness had Hermione dumbfounded. Could she really be pregnant? I mean, of course, physically, with the amount of sex the three of them had. It was more than a probability. She felt tears brimming her eyes as she felt down to her abdomen. She couldn't say for sure, but she did feel different and had for some time. She had just been chalking that up to transforming into an animal. Her brain was quick to ask her heart:  _ How do you feel about this?  _ Her heart's response was just to feel more full and more content: something she didn't think was humanly possible. Extremely scared as well, but overwhelmingly happy. 

Hermione sipped at the unusual tea blend that Luna had made her, noting the ginger notes-it definitely calmed her roiling stomach. She thought of how Draco and Harry would take this news. She knew without a doubt that they would be just as happy, if not more. But Draco... How would Draco handle knowing he had a child on the way? There was no possible way to know right now who's biologically it was, Bu she hoped they would see it as both of theirs, the way she did. 

They had talked about the possibility of children in the future, but not present. The present that held so many unknowns and variables. The threat of the lethifold may be at bay, but it was not extinct. They still had two more months before they could get off this island. Draco would be beside himself with anxiety until they were able to get her checked out and made sure that she and the baby were ok. And just like that, the desire to stay here on this piece of heaven was no longer a priority. Her baby and her husbands were her priority. She knew, she knew without a shadow of a doubt, she was pregnant. 

"Luna, what you were saying about how a mother just knows?" Hermione gasped on the word Mother, knowing that was her new role in life. "I think you are right... no... You are right. I just wish I knew for sure everything was going ok. We can transfigure most things, but I don't think we can create something as complex as prenatal potions or diagnostic tests. I'd need to see a mediwitch for that." She was so overwhelmed. Right now, she just needed to know. 

"I understand your fears. We had planned to stop our birth control measures and try to conceive. We did not dream it would happen so soon, though. I brought some vitamins with me that I have been taking that should supplement what a Mediwitch would give me through the first trimester anyway. But I know Rolf would feel more comfortable if I were being followed." 

"Ugggghhhh." Hermione grumbled." If only we could have found Draco's wand." Hermione just wished she and her sweet friend could be home as soon as possible so they could both secure prenatal care and make sure everything was ok. Her mother had a challenging pregnancy with her, and she knew those types of things could be hereditary. 

"Silly Hemione, what good would Draco's wand do you?", Luna probed. 

"Did we never describe how techmag works?" Hermione asked and received a slight shake of Luna's head in response. "Hmm, ok. So the way we invented the program was relatively simple. When an Auror catches a convicted wizard, they swipe his wand through our scanner. The magic gets read as computer code and gets transmitted as data to the wanted wizard's jurisdiction. That department then has a computer readout of all the past spells the wizard has done, not just the last one. The arresting Auror, who runs the scan's GPS location, will be transmitted as well. See, if we had Draco's wand because he is a convicted wizard, we could send in his information through the scanner. It would alert the Aurors to come to retrieve us. Luna, where are you going? Grab some more Little Debbie's while you are up to please. " 

Luna had gotten up out of her seat halfway through the explanation. She went inside quickly and was now returning with her wand in her hand before offering it and some more snack cakes to Hermione. 

"This is very kind of you, but it will do us no good. We've been trying with my wand, and we are getting the same error code: No known conviction.", Hermione said, already thinking through other concepts of how to get off this island. 

"Oh Hermione, did you now remember back in 2007? That was the day I had met Rolf. We were at the same Erumpant sit in. When we were boycotting the mistreatment of the poor animals by a local animal preserve. I was arrested that night, as was Rolf - it was so romantic, He actually kissed me through the bars of the ministry's holding cells. Hmmm, that reminds me - when we get back, we need to see about role-playing that night. He looked so dashing in his prison robes." 

Hermione shook her head to rid herself of the images. But Luna's words came back to her. "Luna, were you convicted the night you were arrested?" This was it, this was all of their ticket off the island. 

"Mmmm-hmmm," The blonde said indifferently as she munched on one of the snack cakes she had brought back. 

"Luna, with your wand. Someone would come to find us. I mean, Draco would have to modify the code slightly to send them a message stating to come by muggle boat, but my man is a genius, he could do it." Hermione gawked, smiling at her friend, and then onto the roof in the distance where both Draco and Harry were assisting Rolf.

"I think you have a lot to talk about with your husbands, and they should definitely know about your little fetus forming." 

Luna was right, of course - she cried silent tears. Torn between not wanting to leave the island and the little home they had built here and the need to get back to make sure their growing baby was going to be ok. Up until 30 minutes ago, she had been dreading the ticking time bomb that was the portkey set to go off in another 2 months. This was so much to process. 

"I have an idea. Talk to Draco and Harry, tell them everything. Rolf and I will make the trek to your side of the island in two days. With all the research you have given us with Lenny, we have more than enough to delight the Magizoological society. I'm sure Rolf will agree, we can afford to cut our trip off early." 

Both women laughed and talked about what the future looked like for them as mothers. Until Harry and Draco, soaked with sweat, walked into the grove to collect her for their trek home. They transformed, but not before Luna and Hermione embraced, and Luna whispered to her. "Two days."

The three took to their animal forms, and Luna placed the small otter into the backpack laid around the stag's neck like a saddle. They took off through the jungles for what Hermione thought would be the last time. 

As soon as they got back to the encampment and transformed again, night had just fallen. She immediately felt sick to her stomach. She was able to keep it at bay, but the nauseousness was there. She went into their room and promptly laid down. How was she supposed to bring this up to them; how would they take it? They had talked in passing, but not in-depth about having a child. She was going to have a child...Well, in approximately 8-9 months from now, depending on how far along she really was. She cried tears of joy as she enveloped herself up in the blankets. She just wanted to sleep, she would tell them in the morning, along with their plans for getting help to come to the island. 

She felt them both join her in the bed. One wrapping his arms around her middle and pulling her up close to his chest. Harry - she loved that he was such a cuddler. The other laid down in front of her and wrapped his arm around her waist, joining hands with her's and harry's before he kissed her lightly and whispered. 

"Don't worry, Little witch. We will get through it, whatever it is that's going on." 

Draco's Photo Collage birthday present for Harry:


	9. Sensitive Slytherins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you once again to everyone who has read, commented, bookmarked or Kudo'd!! This fic was so much fun to write and really just spawned from me needing to find a way to deal with the 2-month quarantine. There are so many parallels in this story to my own self-isolation experience. Draco, Hermione, and Harry's journey has had fear, acceptance, turmoil, more fear, bat shit craziness, and tiger king references and love, lots of love. Yep, pretty close to my own personal experience thus far and it has helped me process my emotions in what I would consider a positive way (Meh, my husband may disagree though, lol). Once again thank you to everyone who has stuck through to the end!! 
> 
> A little warning, this chapter does touch on a sensitive subject, namely infant loss. I am a mother of a stillborn child and my heart aches for those Mothers and Fathers out there that have had to say goodbye too soon.

Draco knew something was wrong, and it gnawed at him. Sleep kept eluding him as he tried to solve the riddle of just what was so off. He had seen Hermione earlier in the day with Luna's wand in her hand. Although it was ineffective, why did she have it? She looked so worn and beaten down. 

She had hardly spoken to them since they had left Rolf and Luna's. As soon as they got home, she had come right in and laid down. Was she tired of them already? Had she had her fill, had she been trying to figure out ways to get off of the island to get away from him and Harry? It didn't feel like it, but uncertainty washed over him. He didn't give in to negative emotions often, that was just not the way he was wired. Ever since their bond was sealed, though, he had had to sort through a lot of emotional shit. Granted, it was worth it. He would sort through whatever sewage-filled landfill if it meant being with them. It was just new, and new was sometimes more demanding than adapting to change; it was physically nauseating. 

No, he knew in his heart, she did not want to go anywhere, but what would happen when they got off the island. Would the pressures from the outside world be too hard for this new normal they had agreed upon? Life was so much more comfortable here on their island; well, he guessed it was the Scamander's island. But Rolf had not really seemed territorial. He let the physical weariness that comes along with their physical transformations and emotional vomiting finally claim him. Cuddling close to both his loves settling them physically to him. He drifted off with dreams of buying a substantial fishing boat and naming it, "I like big Bass, and I can not lie."

____________________________________

It will all be worth it in the end. Hermione thought to herself as she emptied the contents of her stomach forcefully as she attended to her morning routines down at the shower.

Harry was still asleep, and Draco was doing his morning run and would probably end it at the cove with several hours of fishing. She knew she needed to tell them both about the baby. Just saying it in her mind brought a smile to her face. It was thrilling knowing that she carried a piece of them inside her. Well, biologically, a part of one of them inside her. Would this be the time that jealousy would rear its ugly head? Would one reject the child if it was not genetically his? She knew the answer was no, but she needed to hear it from them. She showered, brushed her teeth, and changed for the day as she headed back to base camp to have the most crucial sit-down out of all the sit-downs they had had. 

Harry had a cup of tea and a kiss waiting for her when she got back. He opened the blanket he had wrapped around his shoulders to welcome her into his embrace. They both looked out to see Draco walking up from the shore with a fish wobbling loosely on his fishing pole. 

"Breakfast is served!" The fearless fisherman laid his spoil out on the table. Harry and Hermione just looked at the fish in disgust. Misinterpreting their physical response of repugnance for annoyance, he huffed back. "Or not suit your selves." 

He walked over to his husband and wife, wanting in on the blanket hug, hoping that might relieve his hurt ego. 

Accepting him into the confines of the blanket, Hermione broached hesitantly, "I have something I need to talk to you both about."

Draco's doubts from last night came to the forefront of his brain. Was she going to tell them she needed space or was not prepared for all this? Why were his emotions so deranged? He felt like a bloody girl. 

"Yeah, sure love, let me change.", Draco directed at Hermione. 

"Would you grab me some tea and we could talk down at the beach, yeah?", Draco asked Harry, feeling like he was about to get dumped. He was silently pleading to him to be prepared for the barrage of untidy girl-like tears and maybe even a 3rd-year level temper tantrum. 

Harry and Hermione made their way down to the beach with theirs and Draco's teas, without saying a word. 

Draco had caught up with them in short order, choosing to forgo changing his clothes for getting life-changing information instead. He was going to try to stay ahead of his emotions by taking charge of the conversation. "Alright, I get it. You are scared. We all are, Hermione. But don't push us away, alright. I have never in my life loved anyone the way I love you both. Not even myself, and trust me that is saying a lot." 

"Draco…", Hermione tried to insert. 

"No, little witch. You let me finish. I'm scared too when we go back in 2 months things will be tough, things will be complex and really fucking strange. But we are gonna get through it together. Do not start pushing us away. I know I can't speak for Potter, but I think it's pretty damn safe to say. We are in this for the long run. All of us, together… Please..." Tears crowded his eyes, and his voice caught in his chest." Please don't try to leave us." 

"Draco, you gormless fool; she's not bloody going anywhere." Harry was on his feet and had his arm around Draco's shoulder. "She's having our baby, you barmy idiot." 

Hermione snickered to herself as she saw the acceptance in Harry's eyes. He had known probably longer than she had, which was only going on 18 hours now. 

"What... Baby...Our…" Draco sank to his knees in front of her as she sat in the beach chair as she nodded. He put his hands to her stomach and just looked up to her. Harry moved to behind her, placing his arms over her shoulders with an ear to ear grin. 

"You're not trying to find a way to leave then.", Draco said, looking up to her with tears running down his cheeks. 

"Oh, no… We are leaving the island tomorrow." Hermione said matter of factly. "But it's not because I'm trying to get away from you. I love you both, I'm not going anywhere. Honestly, I was a little afraid of how you both would take this." 

Ignoring her comment about them getting off the island and when-there was time for questions later. Draco reached one hand up to caress her jaw, leaving the other to touch her still tiny abdomen. "This child is all of ours. It doesn't matter to me if it's dark-haired, white-blonde, or brown-haired. This child will be Malfoy-Potter, and I will love it more than you will ever possibly know." 

Harry came down to the sandy ground to sit next to the clearly impassioned Draco, putting an arm around him while also reaching to Hermione's abdomen. "Same here, Hermione. I knew something was up yesterday as we made our way to the other side of the island, I could tell something was just...off. I got thinking really hard, and you, pregnant, it just made sense. And it does. It.Makes.Sense. It feels right. This is our child, just as you are my wife, and you are my husband." He kissed them both. 

"None of this is random.", He continued on, "This has all happened because it was meant to. Fate just had to come along and kick us in the ass before we realized our destiny, which was to be together. Yeah, you're right, Draco. It is going to be hard when we get back, we are gonna face a lot of difficulty from people whose opinions mean shit to us. But we are gonna get through it all. We, together, are going to create the most amazing life for this baby, and any others we have after this one."

"But, I do need to ask." Harry got sober for a moment. "What do you mean, we are getting off this island tomorrow? I mean, I get it. We need to make sure you and the baby are ok, but how?"

Hermione looked to Draco's disheartened face at Harry's comment. "Yeah, we need off this bloody island a lot sooner than 2 months. Hermione, I need you to be ok, I need you and the baby to be ok. You ARE ok, aren't you?"

Both men sat on the ground next to her. Touching whatever body part they could find of each other, just needing the physical attachments while they waited for her explanation. 

"Yeah, I'm fine, your fish is making me sick, though.", Hermione chuckled as she decided to tell them everything. "See, As Luna and I were talking yesterday, she told me that she and Rolf are expecting, and are about 3 months along. She had given me some of her extra birth control potions to take when my cycle came around, but that was back the first time we were there- about 4 weeks ago. Time had blurred together so much, I hadn't realized I had missed my period until talking to her. Then there's the sickness I have been feeling for the last week. Not to mention, I can just tell. Call it mother's intuition." They all three grinned at that comment. 

"Anyways, we have a plan. See, I never realized that there is another convicted wizard on this island." Both men's postures changed into protective stances, which made her grin grow playful, despite the tenseness of the discussion. "Two more, actually." Now that was just mean. Draco looked ready to murder someone. 

"Rolf and Luna both had convictions." Hermione put them both out of their misery before things got out of hand.

"Of course, How could I have been so stupid," Harry said as he stood, starting a steady pace back and forth. "We even made a 'Most Wanted Witch' poster back at the department as a joke. No one could believe Luna Lovegood, the world's most delightful witch could have an arrest under her belt. I am such an idiot." 

"So wait, Harry." Draco pinned him with a deadpan stare. "There has been a way off this island this whole time? Not just that, but a way to use our technology completely, and prove to the world it works in any environment and we had no bloody idea? Talk about irony." Draco was now laughing to himself. "Of course, we really didn't have a desire to get outta here for the last month, well...till just now, but still."

"So.", Hermione continued with her explanation." She reminded me yesterday of her arrest and offered her wand. She and I both really do need to be back in Wizarding Britain to make sure everything is progressing smoothly with both of our pregnancies. She and Rolf will be securing their side of the island and will come over here at some point tomorrow, and we will scan her wand. But, Draco, you will need to figure a way to send a message along with the coordinates so that they know to come by boat and not use magic. If they apparate in or attempt to portkey, they will just be stuck here like us."

Draco jumped up from his spot and kissed her first on her forehead and then pushed her back to kiss her abdomen, before planting a wet one on Harry as well. He yelled, "On it, boss!" as he ran towards their office - obviously, ready to spend whatever time he needed to fix the coding. He was prepared to do whatever he needed to do to get his wife and child home and to safety. 

Harry and Hermione giggled as they watched him run off with ambition in his step. Harry pulled her down onto his lap in the sand so that she was straddling him, and he could hold her closer. He stroked her back with the silent declaration that he could not be any happier with the news that she had shared with them. Most times, as it had been the last 2 decades, words didn't need to be spoken between the two of them. They held each other for quite some time, just enjoying the last lingering time they had on the island and its calming ambiance. They would be back in 'the real world" within 24 hours if things went right. They were assured enough in their skills and their creation that they knew it would work.

Had they enjoyed this time enough? Hermione wished now that she had taken advantage of the break more, cause their life was about to go full speed and super quick. Their disappearance would have created a stir, there is no doubt about that. And their re-appearance would create one just as much. And then there was making sure the island stayed shielded, and people didn't come snooping around trying to get a peek at the lethifold and tempting fate. But that, she could all deal with tomorrow. For right now, she was going to enjoy the feel of Harry's hands soothingly brushing up and down her back. She would soak in how the sound of the waves echoed through the enormity that was the open air of their island. 

After some time, Harry finally spoke up. "You do realize what's going on, right?" At Hermione's vacant stare at him, he went on." With Draco?"

"What, you mean, his absolute uncharacteristic thought that I was trying to leave you both?", Hermione queried; where was he going with this? 

"Yes, I think he is feeling your pregnancy hormones right now and is feeling them on a whole different level.", Harry theorized. 

"Really, do you think it has anything to do with him having been a father already?", Hermione considered. 

"I do, yeah. I mean, I can feel a lot of various things coming from you. Like I do feel a little sick to my stomach, especially when Draco threw the fish up on the table." Hermione started to dry heave as Harry mentioned the event from earlier. "But I think he is keyed into your emotional symptoms. Maybe even more than you are." 

"Dear Merlin.", Hermione groaned out as Harry laughed, knowing what this meant." A pregnant, Slytherin-Drama-Queen. He will be the worst pregnant person ever." 

They both broke down laughing before they got up to start getting things together for what was most likely their last evening in a strange paradise. 

  
  


The breakdown of the camp was relatively straightforward. They would obviously save the tent for tomorrow, but they wanted to make sure they left the area the same as how they found it. This took them on into the evening, and they could smell Vienna sausages coming from the little grill. Hermione was slightly relieved to not be detecting the fish. 

Draco was sitting at the table, fiddling with something in his hand. Staring off into space until Hermione came and sat down at the table with him. Harry went to work on the sausages and fried plantains that Draco had been too preoccupied to flip; luckily, no food was harmed in the process. 

"I have figured out a solution. The code readout should still read Luna's failed spells, so as long as she just attempts to cast a message Patronus, it will record as a past spell. So she just has to say she is with us, and we need immediate muggle evac with no magic allowed, it should go through. It will read as received from Potter's scanner so that it will flag in the system as well. It may take about half a day for them to apparate to a local island and orchestrate boat transport from there, but it should work." 

"Oh, Draco, that's brilliant. I knew you would be able to make it work." Hermione took his hand, which she noticed was holding something. 

"Love, I know it's really soon, but I have something for the baby." Draco got very solemn, not a common thing for Draco. He held his hand out, and inside it was a little blue matchbox car. He held it up for her and Harry, who had brought over their plates of food by this time to see. "Do you know, I had no idea what one of these was until I was in college. I had honestly thought that it was a real muggle car that had been shrunken down by a witch or wizard. That was until someone in one of my study groups was telling me about how he collected them and had ever since he was a child. All because he had memories of him and his dad playing with them on the ground together. I had no idea that fathers played with their children that way. The more movies I watched, the more friends I had, the more time I spent outside of that bloody Manor; I realized I never had a dad. I had a father, of course, Lucious Malfoy. But I had never had a dad." 

Draco had tears filling his eyes, threatening to come down. Hermione would wager a guess they would be there even if he were not feeling her pregnancy hormones right now. He sniffed through his tears as he went on. "As soon as Astoria told me she was pregnant, I vowed at that moment I would not only be a father, but also a dad. I went out that day into London and found some little hole in the wall toy store and bought a 1 pound 50 matchbox car." He stared at the little toy in his hand, tears now streaming down his face. 

"With everything my father gave me; the most fashionable clothes, the most expensive racing brooms, and a house-elf that would do anything I would ask. I would've traded it all if he had just sat on the floor with me and played with a little car like this." 

Hermione held his hand as her own tears came spilling down her face. 

"His name was Scorpius. My son's name was Scorpius." Draco cried out, tears falling as he verbalized a name he had probably never said to anyone before. "And this is his matchbox car. And I am sure Scorpius would want his brother or sister to have it so that I might play on the floor with him... or her." They all had tears. Even Harry was now crying at the raw emotion coming from Draco and the testimonies of his childhood. It was plain to him just How his child's death affected him and how he was able to finally have an air of closure. 

"Draco, our baby will love playing cars with you on the floor. You could even build a race track out of one of Harry's spare rooms and race them." Hermione smiled as Harry looked on with mock indignation. She took Draco's face between her small hands and mouthed "Thank you" with real honor more at the gift of his sharing and vulnerability than that physical gift of the toy. But she knew how much it meant to him to be able to symbolically close that chapter, so he could look forward to the next one and all the many more to follow after that. 

Wiping his tears aggressively, he switched gears, tired of being teary-eyed. "Whoo, Bloody Hell, is this what the whole 7 months are going to be like?" he said as he grabbed his plate to start eating. They still had a lot to do inside the tent tonight. 

"Um, Draco…" Hermione started as she looked at Harry. 

"It's 9 months 40 weeks total, so technically 10 months if you are going by a 4 week month. And that's if I don't go past my due date." 

Draco looked at her gobsmacked before he started sobbing again dramatically and picked up his plate, saying, "I think I need a moment to myself. I'm just going to eat in the office…" 

Hermione and Harry just stared at his retreating form before Harry muttered, "He will be the worst pregnant man ever." 

Hermione burst out chuckling before she went in after him. 

_________________________________

The next morning there was a flurry of activity after all of them woke up quite a bit later than any of them had intended. The three of them had made love well into the night. Relishing in the intimacy and independence, their island allowed them, their voices all rang out multiple times if for no other reason than they could. In between worshiping each others' bodies or screaming each others' names, they examined how they might handle certain circumstances that may come up in the next couple of days. When they did finally get to sleep, it had been unsettling and filled with worrisome dreams on all of their parts. 

So when they did finally wake to the alarm clock on Draco's phone going off to alert that it was time to make lunch- It helped to have a little reminder now and then. They knew they all needed to get a move on tieing up all the loose strings. Lunch could wait. Luna and Rolf could be there at any time. 

When they had made the plan 2 days ago, they had not set a time, but knowing it takes about 6 hours to get from one side to the other. It was feasible to assume they would be there mid-afternoon. One plus to waking up after lunch was Hermione did not feel nearly as sick to her stomach. Draco, on the other hand, was suffering. Even his owl looked pretty off-colored. 

"Hello, anyone home? Convicted felons coming to see you." came the singsong voice that really did not sound like it belonged to a convicted felon. 

"Luna, I'm so glad you made it safely. Please come sit down.", Hermione said as she embraced her friend as Rolf placed their bags next to the pile of items, it looked like Harry, Hermione, and Draco had packed to take away as well. 

"Oh, the horror… I'm dying… Just kill me.", came the pitiful rambling voice from inside the tent. 

"Oh my, Is Draco hurt?" Luna asked, hearing his moans and groans. 

"Oh him, no… that's just morning sickness.", Hermione replied offhandedly. "You wouldn't happen to have any more of that tea, would you? Not for me, unless you have extra, but it seems Draco has...Well… He has taken on the bulk of my symptoms. It is quite enjoyable to be able to eat some fish without wanting to purge it back up. But, it seems he is not so lucky. And you should see his mood swings. And we are just in the first trimester." She whispered the last part conspiratorially. 

"But of course, I thought you may need some. Here you are." Luna gave her the tea bags and placed her wand on the table. Hermione just stared at it. This was it, there is no going back now. "Yes, thank you, Luna. I really appreciate it. I just want to make sure he is comfortable. How are you feeling by the way?" she remarked as she made up three cups before she started taking down the little charcoal grill to pack away in her bag. No sense in any of them having to suffer if they shouldn't have to. Harry had mentioned that he was definitely feeling what she was feeling, but nowhere to the extent of Draco, and nothing that he couldn't handle. 

"I am good. I am quite ready to get home, though. Don't get me wrong, I would love to stay a little longer, but I am ready for us to find a place of our own. I had been living with my father up until our wedding, and Rolf had been at the Dragon reserve. We then came straight here, so we do not have a place set up yet. We will be using the next week looking for homes."

"Luna, why not my cottage? Draco and I had already determined we would be moving into Harry's home. And well, I was going to need to rent it out before ultimately selling it. It's only a 2 bedroom outside of Fort William, Scotland." Hermione saw the animation on Luna's face. "Certainly, you don't need to decide anything right now, but please consider it. I think it would be a lovely choice, and the floo network is already set up, and it's really not that far from Hogsmeade."

"Hermione, I think that would be lovely. Fort William is not too far from the loch Ness, Rolf has wanted to be a little closer to study Nessy and her babies. I think we may be able to help each other out." The woman laughed and spoke some more as the men finished taking things down. By that time, Draco had come out to drink his ginger tea, which did quiet his stomach quite a bit. 

After about 30 minutes, Draco came over to the women detouring his wife, went straight to the peculiar blonde. He pulled her to her feet and hugged the astonished woman and muttered, "You lovely, crazy, fruit fly. I am sorry for ever calling you anything but amazing. What you women go through. You have my undying gratitude, not only for that magic brew but for growing life inside of you without complaining." Draco hugged tightly as Hermione just laughed openly at his emotion-filled rant. They really needed to get back so that he could maybe get a calming draught or something. Draco wasn't done. "Even if you are into role-playing crazy bizarre, kinky shit that no-one should ever do. You are amazing, and if I have never apologized for the pain and torture, you endured while in my home. Please accept my utmost sincerest apology now. And I hope those memories will not keep your child from our child as they grow together…" 

  
  


__________________________

  
  


It was now 4 hours after they had all sat at the table and scanned the wand. With the guardians around and alert, Luna had attempted to cast a simple Patronus. Nothing. But as she tried, she said out loud, "I, Luna Scamander, formerly Lovegood, am on the island designated as the Research of Lethifold Facility in the Caribbean. I am here with Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy, and Hermione Granger. Their portkey was switched with Xenophilius Lovegood's. They arrived here on July 4th, and magic had been deactivated on this island as there is a magical beast that preys on magic. Please visit the embedded coordinates via muggle boats as you can not use magic within the perimeter of the island. Oh, yes. Also, would you bring Little Debbie cupcakes, please and thank you." 

As the wand was scanned against the techmag scanner, the screen instantly popped up with 'Known Conviction #702003422' and then shortly after that, 'DLME UK." This showed that at the very least, the Auror Department in Wizarding Britain was aware that Luna Lovegood's wand was scanned by Head Auror Potter's scanner. The specific coordinates would then appear in the DMLE UK's Database as well as a coded readout of all of her last spells. The top of the list would be the failed Patronus communication. Even though it had been unable to manifest, she had still attempted the spell. Just 'cause a "bad guy" failed at casting an imperious, didn't mean he wasn't trying to cast an unforgivable. Now, the most vital question was if they would receive the collaborative message stating no magical transportation was to be used. 

They made a fire at the beach's edge later in the day and made s' mores as they waited. They kept their eyes peeled to the sky, the horizon, and to the sandy beach on the off chance that the message had not been received. The latter could trigger a lethifold attack. So far, though, the guardians were content with lounging around. As she held her stick with her marshmallow over the large flame, a sudden thought occurred to her. 

"Harry, Draco… What about Hunter, Wiggy, and Olivia?" Hermione looked to where all three animals were looking up at her. She was so used to seeing them. 

Rolf looked over at them as well before he answered with his theory. "I believe they will have to stay here. At least this particular representation of them. Since you three are actually Elemental Patronus' yourselves, they really are just a representation of you. Because they were created out of the non-existence of external magic, it is quite possible they would dissolve when exposed to well… magic." 

"But, we would be able to cast them again, right?" Hermione queried anxiously as her sweet little otter came over to bump herself under her leg, observing her anxiety rising. 

"Honestly, I have never seen an Elemental Patronus in my life, nor have I ever talked to anyone who has. I have only read about it. But from what you have told me about when you transform, you are actually turning into Olivia. She and you are the same." 

"'Mione, one way we can look at it is, as much as we didn't want to leave this island, with them here - it's almost like in a way we aren't.", Harry said as he removed her stick out of the flames as her marshmallow was now on fire. 

"Well, we will see shortly what's going to happen, 'cause I see a boat heading this way, and it's heading pretty fast.", Draco commented as he got up from his seat, tossing his half toasted marshmallow into his mouth. 

All 5 of them got up on their feet and jumped up and down, waving their hands, hollering and making sure the boat making its way there saw them. 

Hermione watched the three beloved extensions of her, and her husbands walked over to the edge of the trees. Olivia turned to look at her momentarily before she scurried after Hunter and the soaring form of Wiggy. Their retreated indicated the lethifold was close by, which meant there were magical people on that boat. But she knew they would do their job no matter what because she knew she would do her job no matter what. Rolf was correct. That sweet little otter and she were the same. She also knew that that look from her right then was the last time she would see this Olivia, in this form. 

The medium size fishing boat came as close to the shore as it dared before an inflatable raft could be seen off the aft side. Hermione, Draco, and Harry all embraced and kissed clearly thrilled that they were finally going to be going back. Luna and Rolf were also visibly excited. 

They saw 3 figures enter onto the raft in the fading light, one of which had bright white hair and an air of aristocracy even when stepping down into an inflatable raft. 

"Mother? What the bloody Hell are you doing out here?", Draco yelled over the crashing waves as he went into the water to help aid the small craft when it came into the shore. 

  
  


Harry helped secure the raft as Draco assisted his mother. Harry helped the other two occupants: Corland Frasier, an Auror, and Harry's assistant, Dean Thomas. 

Draco attempted to lead his mother from the waters edge over to the camp chairs and away from the frenzy of hugs and activity, but she would not move. She stared intently at Hermione and then to Harry. 

The three of them had many discussions just the night before how they would handle many of the situations that were sure to come up in the next several days. Seeing his mother and introducing Harry and Hermione as his husband and wife to her, was one he had been pushing off. Hermione hoisted her head and stood her ground, knowing where the matriarch's stare was targeted. He loved that little witch, even facing up against Narcissa Malfoy, she had balls. 

Best to get this over with, before I get sick, he thought. "Mother, I'd like to introduce you officially to…"

"Hermione Malfoy-Potter, and Harry Malfoy-Potter," Narcissa answered for him as she nodded her head to Hermione gracefully. She then extended her hand to Harry for him to shake softly. "My son-in-law and Daughter-in-law. It is so wonderful to officially meet you, Hermione, and Harry, as always, it is lovely to see you."

"How… Could you possibly know that mother?" Draco grabbed his head. Now was not the time for a headache, did they bring the little Debbies or not? 

"Kreacher, of course.", Narcissa answered as she looked down at Hermione's small abdomen. 

"Im sorry, Narcissa. What does my house elf have to do with this?" Harry remarked as Rolf, Corland, and Dean were seen taking all of the gathered luggage and items sitting by the beach into the raft to take to the larger fishing vessel. 

"The tapestry Harry. Surely you know how it works.", Narcissa said so matter of factly, Harry felt like a first-year for not thinking of it right away. "Draco, I can't begin to imagine you had much of a wedding out here on this island. I am sure, Miss. Gran… I'm sorry, do forgive me, this may take a moment. Mrs. Malfoy-Potter will permit me to assist in arranging a more suitable ceremony or, at the very least, a reception."

Narcissa leaned into Hermione and, with her hand softly on her abdomen, whispered, "Maybe before we are showing, hmm?" 

She gave a soft smile that Hermione returned. "I would love that. Mrs.."

"No, you will call me Narcissa… or even Cissa, we are family now.", Narcissa explained. Now that business was out of the way, she turned to her son and took him in, admiring the happiness on his face. Harry had come over next to him, while she and Hermione spoke and they had their arms around each other. 

"And you, Harry, always saving my son. Thank you." Narcissa expressed her genuine gratitude. 

"Narcissa, I can honestly say it was your son and Hermione that saved me this time around. I would not be here if it weren't for them." Harry looked up at his husband then to his wife with unmistakable devotion.

Narcissa gave the three a moment. She could see they needed a moment to say their last goodbyes to a truly magical place. 

"In fact, didn't you say something about a life debt?", Harry said as he looked out over to the reef that changed everything.

"Waking up next to the two of you for the rest of my life is payment enough. Consider your life debt, paid in full Potter."


	10. Epilogue

Hermione, Harry, and Draco watched their island fade as the boat piloted by a local squib from Turks and Caico's set off into the disappearing light of the day. By the time they arrived back on the populated island and were able to find a suitable apparition point, darkness had closed in completely. Seeing actual signs of life was challenging; although it was nearing midnight, there were many people out and about enjoying life, oblivious to the fact that three lives had changed on a deserted island not 100 miles from here.

Since Draco and Harry were without wands, they side along apparated with Hermione and Narcissa. Hermione felt relief as magic once again flowed through her vinewood wand. It was a different kind of magic then what she had been feeling the last almost 2 months. 

They only went as far as the MACUSA DMLE in Tampa, to do all the appropriate paperwork. While there, they ran into of all people; Xenophilius Lovegood. He had initially been thrilled to be work with such magnificent big cats at the animal sanctuary. However, that quickly turned to outrage as he saw a clearer picture of the mistreatment the animals were receiving. His attempt to free all the creatures was Epic. He earned his own conviction # in techmag's system as well. An identification he wore with honor. The MACUSA Auror's were very accomodating though, sending Xenophillius home with Harry and his team, and His Daughter and Son in Law Rolf. After all, they were very beholden to him. If he hadn't set those cats free, the muggle authorities would never have gotten a break in a case that had been troubling the area for quite some time. 

The flurry of activity that greeted the fatigued travelers back into Wizarding Britain was to be expected. Raucous, intense, energetic, but expected. By the time they made it by Floo back to The Ministry of Magic in London. The group was exhausted and famished, but as it was 15:00 London time and word had spread of their return, there was no escaping just yet. There was a small welcoming party waiting for them in one of the DMLE conference rooms. The Weasley Clan, minus Ginny for obvious reasons, were waiting with open arms for two of their adopted own. Even though things had not worked out with their children, Molly and Arthur still looked to both Hermione and Harry as part of the family and would not hear otherwise. Ron having to get to an association meeting, stayed just long enough to extend his greeting and delight of their return. Before he left, he gave Hermione a simple side hug and mentioned, " I always knew it would be Harry, and I truly am delighted for you. But why the ferret?" They both laughed before he said his goodbyes. 

Molly had stopped by to grab a distinguished guest, Hermione's mother, who was beside herself with emotion at having thought she had lost Hermione again. Her mother regarded right away the glow in her face and the happiness in her eyes. A mother just knows. She squeezed her daughter close as she whispered, "Your father would want you to have your old crib. And which one of these handsome men is the father?" There was a confused look on her face as Hermione responded." Both." Hermione promised they would meet up after she had rested more, where she would explain everything.

  
  


Andromeda and Little, well not so little anymore, Teddy Lupin were there waiting as well. They were there to greet Teddy's cousin Draco, and his God-father Harry and God-mother Hermione. Andromeda had been informed beforehand about the Trinity union from her sister Narcissa. So there was much enthusiasm from Teddy knowing he would be seeing all of his favorite people together more often. Draco mock wrestled with his 12-year-old cousin letting him pin Draco down in defeat. The way he was growing though, it was a matter of time before Draco wouldn't have to "let" him win. He was nursing a sore wrist later in the evening when Hermione took him aside and whispered guarantees of how they would make it all better once they got home. The gathering could not end quickly enough. 

Soon, many of their co-workers from the ministry and other friends were showing up. Since the end-of-day bell had rung, the drinks started pouring, and it had become a proper party. Harry, Hermione, and Draco were glad to see all of their friends and family, but it was almost too much, too soon. Answering questions, they had yet to know the answers to themselves. They were exhausted and inundated, the desire to be home in Harry's huge sleep number bed was driving them to strive to say their goodbyes. But once they tried another conversation started up. Narcissa, Hermione, and Helen Granger were able to sit down and plan out a beautiful but straightforward reception for 2 weeks from then. She would've been happy to have just met with Minister Shacklebolt (who was currently singing karaoke) to conduct a small ceremony and confirmation ritual. Still, the idea of walking down an aisle side by side with her men was quite thrilling as well. 

Those same to men, who looked tired. They looked between each other a conspiratorial grin on each of their faces. Draco had already witnessed the scene play out in his head, he stepped off to the side of the room out of sight. Hermione caught Harry's attention as she motioned him towards the back of the room. 

The party was in pure turmoil as a Snowy Owl dive-bombed the flowing fountain of Pumpkin juice, spilling it everywhere. Pure calamity engulfed the room as Hermione and Harry were able to slip out unnoticed amongst the chaos, followed closely by the owl. They ran to the closest floo, and just as Draco transformed back into himself, they whisked away to Harry's house, and they did indeed spend a night of passion. 

Hermione had never dreamed of the big extravagant wedding. She had just dreamed of the groom, well, in this case, grooms. Their wedding reception was beautiful. Hermione wore a tea-length periwinkle dress with pockets where she stuffed her and Draco's pregnancy craving staple, Little Debbie's snacks in. They walked side by side down the aisle as they pledged before all their friends and family their love for each other. Although already technically married because of the trinity bond, this was more a symbolic measure. 

There were fewer questions than they thought there would be about their relationship. Many people claimed to have seen the writing on the wall a long time ago. _ Had everyone but Harry and Hermione observed Draco's attraction to them _ . There was definitely a more substantial need for staying safe out in public as there was still darkness in the wizarding world. But that was just part of learning the "new normal" that was their life. One, they wouldn't trade for anything. 

The move for Hermione and Draco went effortlessly. They decided to remodel one of the spare rooms as a nursery. They decorated it in a soft baby blue color with race car decorations and even a small race track on the floor. Harry walked up to Draco to snog him senseless at the same time settling his blue-painted hands on the arse of Draco's designer jeans. Hermione laughed as she remembered the life-saving vision as it came to fulfillment in front of her

Harry also saw his prediction come true, although he would give anything to not see the discomfort on Hermione's face as she gave birth to their first child. The labor was hard for all three of them, Hermione the most though for obvious reasons. They named him Jack after Hermione's father. Hermione and Her mother had still been able to do their trip the previous fall. Her mother was more than thrilled that they were planning on naming their baby after her late father. Helen emphasized how proud he would have been of the bushy-haired brunette and comfortable with her choices. 

There welcomed three more children after Jack. Skye, whose white-blonde curls made all who met her fall in love with her. Lily, who's dark curls were almost as envy-inducing as her older sisters was the shy introvert. She was often seen in one of her father's arms. And Baby Hunter, who's bright green eyes and blond hair intrigued all who saw him. All the children adored playing on the floor with their two dads. 

The Malfoy-Potters bought a piece of property on the island of Eleuthera not far from their island. They as well as the Scamanders, and their twin boys, not much older than Jack, would frequently holiday there. Taking day trips on Draco's huge Fishing boat, which was more like a yacht, thanks to techmag's success, over to their island. Amazingly, Hermione would every now and then see out of the corner of her eye, the wispy silver flick of an otter's tail. The little guardians were still doing their job, taking care of the collective 'we.'

  
  


fin 


End file.
